SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian share markets were determined on Thursday, haunted by the rising U.S. coronavirus death toll, and with financiers braced for more indications of financial pain in the world’s largest economy ahead of another most likely record week of out of work claims.
FILE PHOTO: Passersby using protective face masks following a break out of the coronavirus illness (COVID-19) are assessed a screen showing stock costs outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, March 17,2020 REUTERS/Issei Kato
With hopes growing that the worst of the break out may have passed for China and South Korea, the state of mind was less bleak than on Wall Street, which plunged over night.
Yet MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3%while Japan’s Nikkei was down 1%. European futures rose 0.2%and U.S. futures bounced 1.2?ter Wednesday’s rout.
Bonds rallied and the U.S. dollar held on to current gains.
” Everyone’s attempting to figure out just how much of the month-end moves last week were simply a bearishness rally, or real – it’s that dance,” stated Kay Van-Petersen worldwide macro strategist at Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore.
” My viewpoint is that we’re still in a bearishness and the U.S. is not even close to prices in the huge financial dislocation, not to mention the