(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks slipped Friday as investors weighed signs of progress in the fight against the coronavirus against data showing the severity of the impact on economies. Oil climbed back above $17 a barrel.Japanese shares dipped along with those in Hong Kong and Korea, while Australian equities edged higher. S&P 500 contracts fell after the index erased a 1.6% gain in Thursday’s session to end little changed. Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral drug remdesivir was reported to have flopped in its first randomized clinical trial, though the company disputed that characterization. Treasuries added to gains and the dollar was little changed.A rebound in global stocks has stalled following two weeks of strong gains, as investors assess a flurry of earnings reports along with economic data and the latest news on the virus. Data from the U.S. showed total job losses now exceed 26 million amid the shutdowns.“There is a long list of pretty jaw-dropping data, just in the last 24 hours,” Nerida Cole, managing director at Dixon Advisory, said on Bloomberg TV. “Market pricing is certainly on the optimistic side — that it will be a rosy path out of this crisis — and that’s where investors do need to be quite careful.”Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told EU leaders they’ve done too little, too late to contain the outbreak. In Japan, traders are considering the implications of a Nikkei report that the Bank of Japan may replace its government bond-purchase target to allow unlimited buying.On the virus front, U.S. cases rose at the slowest pace in three weeks. But Texas infections increased for a third day and California reported the most fatalities in one 24-hour period.Elsewhere, oil rebounded as traders eye a production slowdown that has resulted from the coronavirus-led weaker demand environment.These were the main moves in markets:StocksFutures on the S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 10:20 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 closed little changed on Thursday.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 0.6%.The Shanghai Composite lost 0.1%.Japan’s Topix index fell 0.8%.South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.6%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.6%.Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 2.5%.CurrenciesThe yen was at 107.63 per dollar, little changed.The offshore yuan traded at 7.0930 per dollar.The euro bought $1.0767, down 0.1%.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis points to 0.59%.Australia’s 10-year yield was at 0.89%, up one basis point.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.3% to $17.05 a barrel.Gold fell 0.4% to $1,723.71 an ounce.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
