Stocks Mixed in Asia as Rally Eases; Oil Climbs: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks were mixed Thursday following a three-day rally as investors mulled the spread of the coronavirus and when economies will be able to ramp up again. Oil rose amid expectations for production cuts.Shares in Tokyo dipped and were higher in Hong Kong, Sydney and Seoul. S&P 500 Index futures edged up after the gauge jumped 3.4% -- bringing its rise from the March low to more than 20%. Oil climbed after Algeria confirmed that the OPEC+ emergency meeting scheduled for Thursday will discuss an output cut of 10 million barrels per day. A spokeswoman for Russian energy ministry said the nation will commit to cuts based on its proportion of the total production. Treasury yields pared some of Wednesday’s gains.“It’s all a question of when the economy reopens and how quickly that happens,” said Nancy Davis, chief investment officer of Quadratic Capital Management LLC. “We aren’t out of the woods.”While the White House’s top health advisers are developing medical criteria for safely reopening the U.S. economy in coming weeks should trends hold steady, the coronavirus claimed a record number of victims in the U.K. and Belgium, as well as in the hard-hit states of New York and New Jersey. The number of new cases in Italy and Spain crept up after several days of declines.Earlier, Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the start of a turnaround in the fight against the coronavirus could come after this week. President Donald Trump tweeted about reopening sooner rather than later.These are the main moves in markets:StocksFutures on the S&P 500 advanced 0.2% as of 10:26 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge rose 3.4% on Wednesday.Japan’s Topix index slipped 0.7%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.9%.South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.1%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 1.5%.Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4%.CurrenciesThe yen was at 108.92 per dollar, down 0.1%.The offshore yuan traded at 7.0681 per dollar.The euro bought $1.0861.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries slid one basis point to 0.76%.Australia’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.96%.CommoditiesWest Texas crude added 4.6% to $26.24 a barrel.Gold was at $1,647.65 an ounce.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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