European markets opened higher Wednesday after Asian shares mostly declined, as governments were ramping up aid for economies reeling from the virus outbreak.
Shares
- France’s CAC 40 gained 2.5% to 4,750.03.
- Germany’s DAX rose 2.3% to 10,712.97.
- Britain’s FTSE 100 added 1.4% to 6,043.49.
- U.S. shares were set to open lower with Dow futures down 1.0 and S&P 500 futures 1.1% lower.
- Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.3% to finish at 19,416.06.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 plunged 3.6% to 5,725.90.
- South Korea’s Kospi shed 2.8% to 1,908.27.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 25,231.61, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.9% to 2,968.52.
Oil prices
- Oil prices, which plunged 25% on Monday amid a price war between producers, have steadied in the past two days.
- Brent crude, the international standard, fell 32 cents to $36.90 per barrel. It rose $2.86, or 8.3%, to $37.22 a barrel on Tuesday.
- Benchmark U.S. crude fell 48 cents to $33.88 a barrel. It rose $3.23 to $34.36 a barrel on Tuesday.
Currencies
- The dollar fell to 105.10 Japanese yen from 105.64 yen on Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.1323 from $1.1283.