* U.S. stimulus bill clears senate, jobless figures dreaded
* Asia markets patchy: Nikkei down, ASX up
* Yen firms as risk sentiment finely balanced
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, March 26 (Reuters) - Asian stocks eked out gains
on Thursday, but the week's rally lost steam as investors seemed
torn between relief at the agreement of a huge U.S. stimulus
package and dread over a likely spike in jobless claims and
coronavirus cases.
After last-minute negotiations, the Senate backed a $2
trillion bill aimed at helping workers and industries hurt by
the pandemic. Yet concern has already turned to whether that
will be enough to cushion a heavy economic blow. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.3% but regional performances were patchy.
The Nikkei .N225 snapped three days of gains with a 3.5%
drop, while Australia's benchmark .AXJO rose for a third day -
its longest winning streak in six weeks. .T .AX
Currency markets also hinted at the sense of uneasiness -
the risk-exposed Australian dollar sank, the safe haven yen
rose, but so too did many emerging market currencies. FRX/
Oil fell and U.S. and European stock futures turned red
after bobbling into positive territory during the session.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 last traded down 1% and
EuroSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 were down 1.4%.
"After this crazy three weeks of trading we are now coming
to a more static state," said Margaret Yang, market analyst at
brokerage CMC Markets in Singapore. "Bulls and bears are
fighting each other, with equal strength."
Global markets have lost about a quarter of their value in
the last six weeks of virus-driven selling.
The passage of the stimulus bill through the Senate, as
expected, brushed Asian indexes slightly higher but gains were
marginal and ephemeral. The Hang Seng .HSI and Shanghai
Composite .SSEC soon returned to negative territory.
The package will now head to the House of Representatives,
which could vote sometime this week. Before that will come a
glimpse of the scale of economic destruction already wrought.
Initial jobless claims in the United States are due at 1230
GMT, with forecasts in a Reuters poll ranging from 250,000
claims all the way up to 4 million. RBC Capital Markets economists had expected a national
figure over 1 million, but say "it is now poised to be many
multiples of that," as lockdowns drive deep layoffs.
"Something in the 5-10 million range for initial jobless
claims is quite likely," they wrote in a note. That compares to
a 695,000 peak in 1982.
Citi Private Bank said the peak total could reach 15-18% of
the total U.S. workforce, some 25 million people.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is also due to
appear on NBC television around 1100 GMT.
'WE DON'T KNOW HOW BAD IT COULD BE'
The money at stake in the stimulus bill amounts to nearly
half of the $4.7 trillion the U.S. government spends annually.
But it comes against a backdrop of bad news as the
coronavirus spreads and more signs of economic damage.
"There has been so much stimulus thrown at this," said Jun
Bei Liu, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in
Sydney. "But the positivity related to it is really just
sentiment," she said. "We don't know how bad it could be."
Dire data from Singapore offered the latest clue, with the
economy suffering its biggest contraction in a decade in the
first quarter and factories posting their largest output drop
since records began in 1983. Tokyo's governor asked residents to avoid going out and to
"act with a sense of crisis". Spain's coronavirus death toll has
overtaken China's and more than 21,000 people have died
globally. In currencies, the mood drove weakness in both the U.S.
dollar and the riskier Aussie.
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 was last down 0.6% at
$0.5924 and 1% weaker on the rising yen AUDJPY= .
The safe-haven yen JPY= rose 0.4% to 110.70 per dollar and
the softer greenback buoyed emerging market currencies, with
MSCI's emerging markets currencies index .MIEM00000CUS
touching a one-week high. EMRG/FRX
Oil edged lower with fears of plunging demand just
outweighing stimulus hopes. U.S. crude CLc1 futures slipped 30
cents to$24.19 per barrel and Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell
0.5% to $27.26. O/R
Gold XAU= fell 0.7% to $1,602.00 per ounce. GOL/
(Editing by Lincoln Feast)