Asian stock markets rallied for a second day on Tuesday and riskier currencies rose, on tentative signs the coronavirus crisis may be levelling off in New York and receding in Europe.
Gains, however, lacked Monday’s momentum as the number of coronavirus cases kept rising globally and an economic crash on a scale not seen for generations looms large.
Asian stock Markets
- Japan’s Nikkei rose 2% and has erased most of last week’s losses after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised a massive $991 billion economic stimulus package – equal to 20% of GDP.
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan pared early gains, but rose 1.4%
Currency Markets
Moves in the currency and bond markets were more muted, weighed by worries that lifting lockdowns too soon could drive a fresh wave of infections and caution about the economic fallout.
- The U.S. dollar, which has soaked up safety flows for weeks, slipped on most majors.
- The Australian dollar hit $0.6148, its highest in a week.
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The New Zealand dollar rose 1.6% to $0.5988, while the safe-haven yen lost 0.17%, to 108.80 per U.S. dollar.
Bonds
- Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries recovered their overnight losses, with yields rising 31 basis points to 0.7090%, having fallen almost 9 basis points on Monday.
Commodities
- Brent crude was up $1.04, or 3.15%, at $34.09 a barrel after falling more than 3% on Monday. U.S. crude was up $1.00 to $27.07 per barrel.
- Gold edged up 0.05% to $1,662.59 per ounce.
