REFILE-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares suffer virus chills, central banks offer cold comfort

(Refiles to fix ASX200 RIC, add FTSE futures RIC)
* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Australia bucks trend, closes up 7% after jobs package
* Nikkei leads rest of Asia lower, S&P and European futures
rally
* Singapore eases monetary policy
* Oil on the slide as supply engulfs demand

By Wayne Cole and Alun John
SYDNEY/HONG KONG, March 30 (Reuters) - Asian shares slid on
Monday as fears mounted that the global coronavirus shutdown
could last for months although markets regained some lost ground
late in the session with Australia posting a standout jump.
U.S. and European futures also turned upwards in the Asian
afternoon, with E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 up 1.1%,
again after earlier losses, EUROSTOXXX 50 futures STXEc1
rallying 2% and FTSE futures FFIc1 1.5%.
Australia's benchmark ASX200 .AXJO saw a late surge,
closing up 7% after Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled a
$130 billion ($79.86 billion) package to help save jobs.

Most other markets were down but trimmed earlier losses.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 dropped 1.57%, Shanghai blue chips
.CSI300 were down 0.94%, and there were sharper drops in
Southeast Asia, with Singapore' benchmark index .STI down
2.95%. That left MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS nearly flat.
"Markets in Asia are reacting to concerns about the knock-on
economic impact of the coronavirus situation in Europe and North
America, rather than Asian case numbers," said Suresh Tantia
senior investment strategist at Credit Suisse.
JPMorgan now predicts that global GDP could contract at a
10.5% annualised rate in the first half of the year.
"We continue to mark down 1H20 global GDP forecasts as our
assessment of both the global pandemic's reach and the damage
related to necessary containment policies has increased," said
JPMorgan economist Bruce Kasman.
As a result, central banks have mounted an all-out effort to
bolster activity with rate cuts and massive asset-buying
campaigns, which have at least eased liquidity strains in
markets.
China on Monday became the latest to add stimulus with a cut
of 20 basis points in a key repo rate, the largest in nearly
five years. Singapore also eased as the city-state's bellwether economy
braced for a deep recession, while New Zealand's central bank
said it would take corporate debt as collateral for loans.

Rodrigo Catril, a senior FX strategist at NAB, said the main
question for markets was whether all the stimulus would be
enough to help the global economy withstand the shock.
"To answer this question, one needs to know the magnitude of
the containment measures and for how long they will be
implemented," he added. "This is the big unknown and it suggests
markets are likely to remain volatile until this uncertainty is
resolved."

DOLLAR NOT DONE YET
Bond investors looked to be bracing for a long haul with
yields at the very short end of the Treasury curve turning
negative and those on 10-year notes US10YT=RR dropping a steep
26 basis points last week to last stand at 0.68%.
That drop has combined with efforts by the Federal Reserve
to pump more U.S. dollars into markets, and dragged the currency
off recent highs.
Against the yen, the dollar was pinned at 107.74 JPY= ,
well off the recent high of 111.71. The euro edged back to
$1.083 EUR= , after rallying more than 4% last week.
"Ultimately, we expect the USD will soon reassert itself as
one of the strongest currencies," argued analysts at CBA, noting
the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency made it a
countercyclical hedge for investors.
"This means the dollar can rise because of the deteriorating
global economic outlook, irrespective of the high likelihood the
U.S. is also in recession."
The dollar's retreat had provided a fillip for gold, but
fresh selling emerged on Monday as investors were forced to
liquidate profitable positions to cover losses elsewhere. The
metal was last off 0.23% at $1,613.6 an ounce XAU= . GOL/
Oil prices were again under water as Saudi Arabia and Russia
showed no signs of backing down in their price war even as
global transport restrictions hammered demand. O/R
Brent crude LCOc1 futures lost $1.42 to $23.51 a barrel,
while U.S. crude CLc1 fell 83cents to $20.67.

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(Editing by Sam Holmes and Jacqueline Wong)