GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks set to rise on optimism of post-lockdown recovery, stimulus

By Suzanne Barlyn
NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set to rise
on Friday amid investor optimism about the re-opening of the
U.S. economy from coronavirus lockdowns and possibly more
stimulus that could fuel a recovery.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was open to negotiating
another possible stimulus bill amid the novel coronavirus
pandemic, but "was taking his time" to see if more federal
action was needed. Ahead of the Asian open, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures
.HSI .HSIc1 climbed 0.16%, Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures
YAPcm1 rose 0.85%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 futures NKc1
were down 0.15%.
"We're expecting to see a positive situation evolve here,"
said Ryan Felsman, a senior economist at CommSec in Sydney,
noting that Asian equities would likely follow the positive Wall
Street lead, driven in part by gains in banking and energy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1.62%, the S&P
500 .SPX gained 1.15%, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose
0.91%.
Stock markets have rallied more than 30% since their March
lows following unprecedented government stimulus measures and
central bank intervention to counter the impact of economic
lockdowns. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell quashed talk
of U.S. interest rates going negative to kick-start investment.
Optimism over potential stimulus spurred investors to look
past a report from the U.S. Labor Department, which showed just
under 3 million new jobless claims last week, pushing the
seven-week tally well over 36 million. Investors also shrugged off bellicose remarks from President
Trump regarding U.S.-China trade and a
whistleblower's dire warnings that the United States could face
"the darkest winter" if it does not improve its response to the
pandemic. Investors on Friday are awaiting monthly data from China
that tracks industrial production, fixed asset investment and
retail sales. The retail data will be an especially insightful
indicator of China's recovery as its economy reopens, Felsman
said.
Residents in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the novel
coronavirus emerged, braved pouring rain in queues of more than
an hour to take part in a government-led exercise to test the
city's 11 million people for the novel coronavirus, a scale
health experts describe as unprecedented. The Japanese yen remained strong on the back of increased
safe-haven demand, but is set to slip below the 107 yen per
dollar mark, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote
Bank, said in a note.
In commodity markets, oil prices settled higher on Thursday
after the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast lower
global stockpiles in the second half of 2020, although worries
remain that a second surge in coronavirus infections could occur
in coming months. Brent crude futures LCoc1 settled up $1.94, or 6.7%, to
$31.13 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1
settled up $2.27, or 9%, to $27.56 a barrel.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.92%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 1.32%
lower.
Against a basket of its rivals =USD , the dollar rose
0.20%, hitting a three-week high. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR last fell
1/32 in price to yield 0.6218%.

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