Bank of America just raised its EUR/USD forecast
* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Asia markets turn choppy, give back some recent gains
* Oil rebounds in early trade, after steep slide
By Wayne Cole and Chris Prentice
SYDNEY/WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - Asian stocks stepped
back on Wednesday after two sessions of sharp gains as investors
turned wary on getting too optimistic about the coronavirus
while death tolls were still mounting across the globe.
Not helping sentiment was wild volatility in the oil market,
where prices rebounded in early Asia after sliding on Tuesday
leaving traders dizzy. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 futures jumped 5.4% to $24.92 a barrel,
having shed 9.4% the session before, while Brent crude LCOc1
added 74 cents to $32.61.
The erratic action spilled over into equities with MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS losing 0.5%.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 dropped 0.7% and South Korea .KS11
0.8%. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 shed early gains to
turn 0.7% lower as investors took profits on the recent spike.
"There is reason to be cautious as this looked to be a
relief rally ahead of next week's start of Q1 earning season and
before data reveals the depth of the virus impact," said
analysts at JPMorgan in a note.
"Data shows the recent move higher has been accompanied by
short covering and de-risking rather than active risk taking on
the long side."
The S&P 500 .SPX had ended Tuesday down 0.16%, having been
up as much as 3.5% at one stage. The Nasdaq .IXIC dropped
0.33% and the Dow .DJI 0.12%.
After U.S. stock markets closed, President Donald Trump said
the United States may be getting to the top of the coronavirus
curve. The Trump administration asked Congress for an additional
$250 billion in emergency economic aid for small U.S. businesses
reeling from the pandemic. "While the virus' 'curve is flattening', the economic
effects of the corona crisis will linger for years in our view,"
Commonwealth Bank of Australia economist Joseph Capurso said in
a note.
"Economies will take time to re-open, some businesses will
not re-open, and unemployment will take years to return to
levels reported at the end of 2019."
Ratings agency S&P Global on Wednesday warned the cost of
combating the virus would weigh heavily on Australia's finances
and changed the outlook for the country's rating to
negative. That knocked the Aussie dollar down 0.6% to $0.6191 AUD=D3
and hit risk sentiment generally. The U.S. dollar eased 0.1% on
the safe-haven yen to 108.60 JPY= , while the euro dipped to
$1.0877 EUR= .
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar edged up 0.1% to
100.070 =USD .
Gold prices XAU= eased back to $1,644, after touching a
3-1/2-week high on Tuesday at $1,671.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tracking the spread of the novel coronavirus https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Editing by Sam Holmes)