Asia shares rally after rout; U.S., European futures higher

Pedestrian wearing a face mask walks near an overpass with an electronic board showing stock information in Shanghai · Reuters

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares made a partial comeback from a global rout on Friday but still nursed massive losses for the week, while bonds rallied and oil extended its gains.

European shares were set for similar gains. Early in the European day, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 1.87%, German DAX futures gained 1.86% and FTSE futures.

U.S. S&P 500 e-mini stock futures also pointed to a brighter end to the week, adding 1.7%.

In afternoon trade in Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 4.41% higher, ending a seven-sessions streak of losses.

But in an indication of the deep damage inflicted on global equities from pandemic fears, the index remains set to finish more than 10% lower this week. It lost 11.1% last week.

As the spread of the coronavirus brought much of the world to a halt, nations have poured ever-more-massive amounts of stimulus into their economies while central banks have flooded markets with cheap dollars to ease funding strains.

The U.S. Senate was debating a $1 trillion-plus package that would include direct financial help for Americans, relief for small businesses and steps to stabilise the economy.

Sources told Reuters that China was set to unleash trillions of yuan of fiscal stimulus to revive an economy facing its first contraction in four decades, though on Friday the country surprised markets by keeping its lending benchmark unchanged.

"The speed and aggression with which authorities are wheeling out measures to cushion the economic fallout from the virus and sowing the seeds for a hopefully rapid recovery, has resonated somewhat in equity markets," said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at NAB.

"Yet there is little doubt that funds need to buy dollars to rebalance hedges in light of the 30% fall in equity markets so far this month," he added. "The dollar remains the pre-eminent safe-haven asset during times of extreme market stress."

The dollar's surge is a nightmare for the many countries and companies that have borrowed heavily in the dollar, leading to yet more selling of emerging market currencies in a negative feedback loop.

Such was the stress that dealers hear whispers of a new Plaza Accord, the 1985 agreement when major central banks used mass intervention to restrain a rampant dollar.

For now, investors in Asia were merely happy Wall Street had not plunged again and South Korean shares bounced 7.4%, though that still left them down more than 11% for the week.

Australia's beleaguered market eked out a 0.70% gain, and futures for Japan's Nikkei were trading up at 17,710, compared to a cash close of 16,552.