Global Stocks and U.S. Futures vs Coronavirus Outbreak

On Monday, the Federal Reserve announced an open-ended asset purchase program. Moreover, the Federal Reserve pledged to buy not only government and residential mortgages but for the first time plans to buy commercial mortgages as well. It is worth mentioning that, Federal Reserve promised to provide unlimited support for markets. On Tuesday, global stocks and U.S. futures strengthened their positions, thanks to such decisions.

Moreover, investor sentiment improved thanks to the news connected with the U.S. Congress. U.S. lawmakers are working on a massive rescue package. Congress plans to allocate $2 trillion and the negotiations are underway to decide on how to spend this money.

Stocks across the world

Stocks across the region strengthened their position on Tuesday. Policymakers in major economies made the decision to soften the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Such decisions are important as companies are trying to do whatever it takes to avoid the worst-case scenario.

On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw gains on the day. Moreover, it outperformed most stocks in the region. Its index added 7.13% to end its trading day at 18,092.35. The shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing jumped 13.79%. At the same time, shares of another heavyweight Softbank Group soared 18.95%. Moreover, another Japanese stock index Topix also had a good day. Its index gained 3.18% and reached 1,333.10.

South Korea’s Kospi index added 8.6% to close at 1,609.97.

On March 24, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 4.25 as of its final hour of trading.
Mainland Chinese stocks also saw significant gains on the day. The Shanghai composite index rose 2.34% to about 2,722.44. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen composite index gained 2.105% to around 1,666.22.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 4.17% to close at 4,735.70.

Stock markets in Asia and elsewhere are under pressure as coronavirus continues to spread around the world. Hopefully, governments are ready to do whatever it takes to support their economies.