Asian Markets Rise After Fed Stimulus Boosts Wall St

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2020 ) :Asian markets were mostly higher in morning trade on Friday after the latest US coronavirus stimulus measures boosted Wall Street overnight.

In its latest attempt to ease the economic pain inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Federal Reserve said it would pump $2.3 trillion through new lending programmes.

The pandemic has now claimed more than 94,000 lives around the world and hammered economies, sending governments and central banks scrambling to put together unprecedented, massive emergency measures.

The strong close on Wall Street helped boost Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index by 0.4 percent in the afternoon.

Seoul was also up, rising 0.7 percent, and Taipei gained 0.1 percent. But Shanghai was down 0.7 percent.

Hong Kong, Sydney, Wellington, and Singapore were closed for a public holiday.

The Fed appears to be "on a mission to blow holes in every dam that stops the flow of credit", said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp.

"And it sure sounds like they have plenty more dynamite if needed." The European Union also followed the US with its own rescue package worth 500 billion Euros ($550 billion) to ease the impact of COVID-19 in the 27-nation bloc.

Millions of jobs have been shed during the pandemic, with data released Thursday showing 17 million people have lost their jobs in the United States alone since mid-March.

But investors appear to be focused more on the impact of the stimulus packages and if they will be able to achieve the stability governments are hoping for.