Asian stocks looked set for a mixed start to trading after a U.S. rally faltered on a report a leading experimental coronavirus drug performed poorly in a test. Oil climbed back above $16 a barrel.
Futures dipped in Tokyo and rose in Hong Kong and Australia. S&P 500 contracts edged lower after the gauge erased a 1.6 per cent gain in Thursday’s session to end little changed. Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral drug remdesivir flopped in its first randomized clinical trial, the Financial Times reported, citing draft documents published accidentally by the World Health Organization. The drug company disputed that characterization. Treasuries edged higher and the dollar was mostly lower against its G-10 peers.
‘Investors have pinned their hopes on continued progress toward curve flattening and eventually a vaccine,’ said Adam Phillips, director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors. ‘Today’s sudden reaction illustrates how fickle investors are in the current environment.’
A rebound in global stocks has stalled following two weeks of strong gains, as investors assess a flurry of earnings reports along with economic data and the latest news on the virus. Data from the U.S. showed total job losses now exceed 26 million in the wake of the economic shutdown prompted by the pandemic. Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told EU leaders they’ve done too little, too late to contain the outbreak. In Japan, traders are considering the implications of a Nikkei report that the Bank of Japan may replace its government bond-purchase target to allow unlimited buying.
On the virus front, U.S. cases rose at the slowest pace in three weeks and Texas infections increased for a third day. California reported the most fatalities in one 24-hour period.
Read EquityPandit’s Nifty Outlook for the Week