REFILE-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares make cautious gains, oil and gold jump

(Corrects spelling and grammar in paragraphs 8 and 9)
* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Nikkei inches higher, S&P 500 futures climb 0.7%
* Brent jumps to 5-week high on hopes for demand revival
* Gold at 7-year peak amid lake of liquidity, low rates

By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, May 18 (Reuters) - Asian shares crept ahead on
Monday and oil prices hit a five-week high as more countries
re-opened their economies, stirring hopes the world was nearer
to emerging from recession.
Summer weather is enticing much of the world to emerge from
coronavirus lockdowns as centres of the outbreak from New York
to Italy and Spain gradually lift restrictions that have kept
millions cooped up for months. "The economies of Europe and the U.S. likely bottomed out in
April and are slowly starting to come back to life," wrote
Barclays economist Christian Keller in a note.
"However, incoming data from most economies highlight the
depth of the contraction, raising risks of longer-term scarring
that might undermine the recovery."
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell took a cautious line
in an interview over the weekend saying a U.S. economic recovery
may stretch deep into next year and a full comeback might depend
on a coronavirus vaccine. Late Sunday, Powell outlined the likely need for three to
six more months of government financial help for firms and
families. Data out on Friday had shown retail sales and industrial
production both plunged in April, putting the U.S. economy on
track for its deepest contraction since the Great Depression.
Closer to home, data in Japan showed the world's
third-largest economy slipped into recession in the first
quarter, putting it on course for its worst postwar slump as the
coronavirus takes a heavy toll. Adding to the uncertainty were the trade tensions between
the United States and China, with Beijing warning it was opposed
to the latest rules against Huawei HWT.UL . All of which made for a guarded mood and MSCI's broadest
index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged
up 0.1% in early trade. Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 0.2% and
South Korean stocks .KS11 0.1%.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 added 0.7%, though
results from a raft of U.S. retailers this week are likely to
make grim reading. Dealers reported much chatter about a possible treatment for
COVID-19 from drug maker Sorrento Therapeutics SRNE.O , which
saw its shares soar on Friday.
Another focus will be the U.S. Treasury Department's first
auction for its 20-year bond on Wednesday. Treasury plans to
borrow a record amount of nearly $3 trillion this quarter.
So far, the market has easily absorbed the flood of new
debt, with 10-year yields US10YT=RR holding to a tight range
around 0.64%. US/
The dollar has also been largely range-bound, with its
safe-haven appeal keeping it well supported overall. Against a
basket of currencies, it was last at 100.38 =USD , having
drifted 0.7% higher last week.
The euro was steady at $1.0820 EUR= , while the dollar
edged up 0.2% on the Japanese yen to 107.25 JPY= .
The pound touched a seven-week low at $1.2073 GBP= after
the chief economist of the Bank of England said the bank was
looking more urgently at options such as negative interest rates
and buying riskier assets to prop up the economy. In commodity markets, the flood of liquidity from central
banks combined with record-low interest rates to help lift gold
to a seven-year peak. The metal was last up 1% to $1,758 an
ounce XAU= . GOL/
Oil prices reached their highest since March on a pick-up in
demand as countries around the world eased travel restrictions.
O/R
Brent crude LCOc1 futures firmed 96 cents to $33.46 a
barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 rose 98 cents to $30.41.

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(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)