* Economic indicators point to deep recession
* European shares gain 1%, dollar extends gains
* U.S. jobless claims eyed at 1230 GMT
* Oil stuck near 18-year low
* Benchmark bond yields nudge higher
By Marc Jones
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Europe led world stock markets
back to higher ground on Thursday as tentative moves to reopen
parts of the some of its larger coronavirus-hit economies offset
some truly stinking global economic numbers.
Asian equities and U.S. futures had wilted earlier in the
day after warnings of a Great Depression-style slump in the
world economy, a record plunge in U.S. retail sales, oil near an
18-year low O/R and the prospect of a sky high jump in U.S.
jobless claims later in the session. But the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose over 1%
in early trade, spurred by a drop in the virus death tolls in
both Spain and Italy and reassuring statements from two of the
continent's big budget airlines about their survival prospects.
.EU
Wall Street futures ESc1 recovered, too, and in the
currency and bond markets both the dollar USD= and benchmark
German Bund and U.S. Treasury yields shifted higher in the more
'risk-on' mood. /FRX GVD/EUR
"We have had this big wave of big announcements by
governments and central banks and now we need to get into the
nitty gritty of how it all works," said AXA Investment Managers
chief economist Gilles Moec.
"We need to see if it is working, how it is working and if
we need to do more."
Markets may be seizing on the fact that policymakers,
however reluctantly, are starting to allow stringent lockdowns
to ease.
Germany is proposing to reopen schools and some retailers
starting May 4, while around 20 U.S. states spared the worst of
the coronavirus pandemic may start reopening their economies by
President Donald Trump's May 1 target date.
Firms are looking to restart as well. Volkswagen has said
its factories in Germany and Slovakia will resume some
production from April 20 with others following a week later.
But the economic figures are dire. After the IMF's forecasts
for this year, markets are expecting China to report on Friday
that Q1 GDP contracted for the first time on record, and hopes
for a quick rebound are fading fast. A Reuters survey showed that most Japanese firms feel
stimulus announced so far are insufficient and Wednesday's U.S.
data also showed manufacturing output there dropping the most in
over 74 years.
OIL IN A RUT
Asia had had a difficult day as a result. Tokyo's Nikkei
dropped 1.3% and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS lost almost 1%, wiping out early
week gains that had taken it to a one-month high. >T
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar AUD=D3 fell to a
one-week low and oil prices struggled to rise against the
expectation of cratering demand.
U.S. crude CLc1 sat at $20.22 per barrel, just over $1
above an 18-year low hit on Wednesday, and Brent crude LCOc1
rose 37 cents or 1.3% in European trade to $28.02 per barrel.
O/R
The International Monetary Fund is predicting zero growth in
Asia this year for the first time in 60 years, as exporters are
pounded by slumping demand and anti-virus measures force
consumers to stay home and shops to shut down. Benchmark indexes in Australia .AXJO , Hong Kong .HSI and
Shanghai .SSEC also posted falls between 0.4% and 1.3% and
some emerging markets fell harder. .AX .HK .SO
"A recovery timeline...remains impossible to predict," said
Ronald Lam, chief customer officer at airline Cathay Pacific
0293.HK , which has slashed nearly all its passenger capacity
and lost a fifth of its value this year.