GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares rise on more stimulus hopes but dollar loses steam

* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Markets take U.S. jobless claims in stride
* Coronavirus pandemic ravages global economy
* Investors pinning hopes on stimulus
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
open
https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser

By Stanley White
TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Friday as
investors wagered policymakers will roll out more stimulus
measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic after U.S.
unemployment filings surged to a record.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.2%. Australian shares .AXJO gave up
gains to fall 1.09%, but Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 1.44%.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 reversed course and
fell 0.95% in Asia following three consecutive days of gains in
the S&P 500 .SPX on Wall Street.
The dollar nursed losses against major currencies as central
banks' steps to solve a dollar shortage in funding markets
started to gain traction.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a $2
trillion stimulus package later on Friday that will flood the
world's largest economy with money to stem the damage caused by
the pandemic. The U.S. 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. The United States is now the country with the most
coronavirus cases, surpassing even China, where the flu-like
illness first emerged late last year. Policymakers may need to
offer more stimulus as the virus slams the brakes on economic
activity and increases healthcare spending.
"I'm not sure what measures are left, but the reaction in
stocks shows some people hoping for more stimulus thought the
market was a little oversold," said Yukio Ishizuki, FX
strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.
"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."
The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment
benefits surged to a record of more than 3 million last week as
strict measures to contain the virus pandemic ground the country
to a sudden halt, data showed on Thursday. The jobless blowout was announced shortly after Fed Chairman
Jerome Powell said the United States "may well be in recession",
an unusual acknowledgement by a Fed chair that the economy may
be contracting even before data confirms it. Global equity markets took the data in their stride, partly
as most central banks have already aggressively eased policy and
governments are backing this up with big fiscal spending.
Chinese shares .CSI300 , battered this month because of the
virus, rose 0.8% on Friday. Shares in South Korea .KS11 ,
another country hit hard by the pandemic, jumped by 1.62%.
Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies pledged on
Thursday to inject over $5 trillion into the global economy to
limit job and income losses from the coronavirus. MARKET
In the currency market, the greenback fell 0.89% to 108.64
yen JPY=EBS in Asia, on pace for a 2% weekly decline.
The dollar was also headed for weekly declines against the
Swiss franc CHF=EBS , pound GBP=D3 , and euro EUR=EBS .
The U.S. currency's fall after two weeks of gains suggests
that the Fed's efforts to relieve a crunch in the dollar funding
market are working, some analysts said.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR
rose slightly in Asia to 0.8160%, while the two-year yield
US2YT=RR edged up to 0.2809%.
Yields were still headed for a weekly decline, taking cues
from the Fed's extraordinary steps to bolster markets and the $2
trillion stimulus package.
U.S. crude CLc1 ticked up 2.08% to $23.07 a barrel. Brent
LCOc1 rose 1.14% to $26.64 per barrel. Energy markets have
been caught in a tug-of-war between hopes for stimulus spending
and worries about excess oil supplies. O/R
Gold, normally bought as a safe haven, was slightly lower.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.44% to $1,626.16 per ounce. GOL/
Gold market participants remained concerned about a supply
squeeze after a sharp divergence between prices in London and
New York. The virus has grounded planes used to transport gold
and closed precious metal refineries.

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GRAPHIC: COVID-19 in the U.S. https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T
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(Editing by Richard Pullin and Himani Sarkar)