SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian shares followed Wall Street higher on Monday as investors looked ahead to more countries restarting their economies, even as some reported an unwelcome pick up in new coronavirus cases.
FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians wearing face masks walk near an overpass with an electronic board showing stock information, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
European markets are also heading north, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 and FTSE futures FFIc1 up about 1%. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 opened softer but bounced as the Asia day wore on and was last up 0.5%.
Encouraging investors in Asia was further loosening of coronavirus restrictions in the region with New Zealand easing some curbs from Thursday while Japan plans to end a state of emergency for areas where infections have stabilised.
In Europe, millions of French people are also set to cautiously emerge from one of that region’s strictest lockdowns on Monday.
That comes even as South Korea warned of a second wave of the new coronavirus as infections rebounded to a one-month high, while new infections accelerat