Asian stocks fall, Europe set to follow on doubts over coronavirus drug

TOKYO/WASHINGTON: Asian shares and U.S. stock futures fell on Friday, spurred by doubts about progress in the development of drugs to treat COVID-19 and new evidence of U.S. economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq turned negative at the close on Thursday after a report that Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir had failed to help severely ill COVID-19 patients in its first clinical trial. U.S. business activity plumbed record lows in April, mirroring dire figures from Europe and Asia as strict stay-at-home orders crushed production, supply chains and consumer spending, a survey showed.

Shares in South Korea, which has won recognition for its aggressive measures to contain the coronavirus, fell 1.11per cent. U.S. crude ticked up 4.85per cent to US$17.30 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 3.98per cent to US$22.18 per barrel in Asia as some oil producers said they will bring forward output cuts.

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