Investing.com - 71.7% of Chinese SMEs are back at work as of Thursday according to government data, while Singapore braces for a 1 to 4% drop in its economic growth.

Meanwhile, India’s informal sector will need help as the country starts a 21-day lockdown while the United States Senate passes a $2 trillion stimulus package.

As of March 25, the number of confirmed cases globally stood at 416,686 with 18,589 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.

China

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the resumption of work rate for Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises reached 71.7% as of March 24, a 42.1% increase from February.

India

The country starts a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. But Kunal Kundu, India economist at Societe Generale (PA:SOGN), tells CNBC that he fears a “huge” impact on its informal sector, including street vendors, taxi and auto drivers.

Singapore

The Ministry of Trade and Industry warns that the economy is expected to shrink between 1% and 4% this year, a 2.2% contraction from the first quarter of 2019.

It forecast a drop in annual GDP between 0.5% and 1.5% last month.

United States

The U.S. Senate passes a $2 trillion stimulus, succeeding in a third try to reach consensus as the number of COVID-19 induced deaths tops 1,000 according to Johns Hopkins University. The bill will now head to the House, where it is expected to be approved by tomorrow.

Forecasts compiled by investing.com predict that a million Americans who have lost their jobs will claim unemployment as the U.S. initial jobless claims data is released later today.

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