Shares rebound on glimmers of progress in battling virus

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares and U.S. futures rebounded on Monday as investors grasped at threads of hope that the battle against the coronavirus pandemic may be making some progress in some hard-hit areas.

Markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney gained more than 2% in early trading and Hong Kong was up nearly 1%. New York futures were about 3% higher.

The gains followed another Friday session of losses after the U.S. said employers cut 701,000 more jobs than they added last month, the first drop in nearly a decade. Investors fled the market ahead of the weekend. Oil prices were higher.

Reports showed the number of people dying appeared to be slowing in New York City, Spain and Italy. The news was cautiously welcomed by leaders, who also noted that any gains could easily be reversed if people did not continue to adhere to strict lockdowns.

“Hundreds of people are passing away each day from the pandemic, but less so than previous days, giving markets hope that the lockdown measures are finally starting to prove effective," Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.

“Like the rest of the world, financial markets are searching for any slivers of hope," he said.

The situation has deteriorated in other areas as rates of infections have surged.

Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was expected to announce a state of emergency on Tuesday to further curb public activity and contain the outbreak. Thailand's government was reported to be considering expanding its 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 2.4% to 18,249.57 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9% to 23,439.92. South Korea's Kospi added 2.2% to 1,763.93 while the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney advanced 2.9% to 5,213.60. Shares also rose in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Shanghai's market was closed for a...