European stocks rallied. What about Asian and U.S. futures?

European stocks rallied. What about Asian and U.S. futures?

European stocks soared along with the U.S. equity futures on Thursday, recovering some losses from the previous day. The investors are waiting for new earnings and economic data to gauge the extent of damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar rose due to its safe-haven status.

Contracts for the three leading American benchmarks edged up after lowering on Wednesday due to the miserable data in the world’s largest economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index continues growing for the sixth day out of seven, with nearly all major national gauges and industry sectors in the green.

The investors are now bracing for the weekly U.S. unemployment data, which is due on Thursday. They think corporate results and economic data will highlight the severe hit from the shutdown of industry and commerce. American factory output and retail sales showed historic declines in March, and reports looked even worse in April.

On the other hand, shares dropped down in Hong Kong and Japan, while stocks in China gained modestly. After rallying during the previous day, Treasuries were steady. Oil prices rose higher after dropping to its lowest point in nearly two decades this week.

Will the markets be able to recover soon from the coronavirus crisis?

Tai Hui, the Asia-Pacific chief market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, noted that the corporate earnings reality and the economic reality need to reconcile with the markets at some stage. According to him, the market hasn’t fully factored in the uncertainties or potential risks in terms of earnings downgrades.

President Donald Trump stated that the U.S. had passed the peak on new cases according to data. He plans to announce on Thursday guidelines to relax stay-at-home rules.

Mark Kiesel, global credit chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co., on the other hand, thinks that there is still a lot of uncertainty with the virus.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index rose by 0.5% on Thursday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index also increased by 1.2%. However, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell by 1%.