Benchmarks in Tokyo and Sydney declined but losses were smaller than Wall Street's 4.4% overnight fall. Shanghai opened down but gained 1% while Seoul advanced 2.4%.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained to 2,761.50. The Kospi in Seoul rose to 1,725.64, while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 slipped 2% to 5,154.30.On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 1.3%. A report on Wednesday said private US employers cut 27,000 jobs last month, though that was milder than expected. The survey used data from March before the number of people seeking unemployment benefits exploded to a record.
The number of infections is rising despite anti-disease controls that have shut down much of the global economy. The US Congress last week agreed on a US$2.2 trillion economic aid package and the Federal Reserve promised to buy as many Treasurys as needed to keep credit markets running smoothly.