TOKYO - Asian stocks rose on Friday as investors wagered policymakers will roll out additional stimulus measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic after US unemployment filings surged to a record.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.81 per cent in Asia following three consecutive days of gains in the S&P 500 on Wall Street. The US Federal Reserve has already slashed rates to zero and launched quantitative easing. The Fed will also take the unprecedented step of offering a direct backstop for corporate loans.
"Currencies tell a different story. The dollar is the lead actor. The mad rush to buy dollars due to liquidity concerns is starting to fade." Global equity markets took the data in their stride, partly because most central banks have already aggressively eased policy and governments are backing this up with big fiscal spending.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose slightly in Asia to 0.8383 per cent, while the two-year yield edged up to 0.2946 per cent.