GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks rise on bets of more stimulus as dollar rally fades

* 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

By Stanley White
TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Friday as
investors wagered policymakers will roll out additional 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 1.0%. Australian shares .AXJO were up
2.02%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index .N225 rose 3.65%.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 rose 0.81% 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 coronavirus pandemic ground the
country to a sudden halt, data showed on Thursday.
The jobless blowout was announced shortly after Federal
Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that 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
because most central banks have already aggressively eased
policy and governments are backing this up with big fiscal
spending.
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 and "do
whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic." In the currency market, the greenback fell 0.25% to 109.34
yen JPY=EBS in Asia on Friday, on pace for a 1.3% weekly
decline.
The dollar was also headed for weekly declines against the
Swiss franc CHF=EBS , the pound GBP=D3 , and the 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 0.8383%, while the two-year yield
US2YT=RR edged up to 0.2946%.
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 1.77% to $23 a barrel in Asia.
Energy markets have been caught in a tug-of-war between hopes
for stimulus spending and worries about excess supplies of
crude.
Gold, normally bought as a safe haven, was slightly lower.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.30% to $1,626.58 per ounce. GOL/
Gold market participants remained concerned about a supply
squeeze following a sharp divergence between prices in London
and in New York. The coronavirus has grounded planes normally
used to transport gold and closed precious metals refineries.


(Editing by Richard Pullin)