Asian equity markets were poised to edge higher on Thursday after rebounding crude prices and the promise of more U.S. government aid to ease the economic pain inflicted by the coronavirus crisis helped calm global equity markets.
The Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.97per cent at 19,280.78 on Wednesday. The futures contract is up 0.15per cent from that close. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures rose 0.13per cent. Still, it may take European Union countries until the summer if not longer to agree on how to finance aid to help economies recover from the pandemic as major disagreements persist, a bloc official said on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 456.94 points, or 1.99per cent, to 23,475.82, the S&P 500 gained 62.75 points, or 2.29per cent, to 2,799.31 and the Nasdaq Composite added 232.15 points, or 2.81per cent, to 8,495.38.