SYDNEY - Stocks jumped as investors were encouraged by a slowdown in coronavirus-related deaths and new cases.
The pound fell 0.4 per cent in early trade on Monday in a knee-jerk reaction and was last down 0.3 per cent at US$1.2222. US stock futures jumped more than 1.5 per cent in early Asian trading on Monday after US President Donald Trump expressed hope the country was seeing a"levelling off" of the coronavirus crisis.
That left MSCI's broadest index of Asian shares outside of Japan up 0.1 per cent. China markets were closed for a public holiday. Strickland, however, noted many in China were still subject to social distancing and isolation restrictions to prevent a resurgence in infections.