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NEW YORK — Wall Street stocks opened higher on Tuesday, surging for a second straight session amid hopes governments are making progress in combating the spread of the coronavirus.

      About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 23,380.75, up 700 points or 3.1 per cent.

      The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 2.7 per cent to 2,735.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 2.2 per cent to 8,084.82.

      Analysts said the gains reflected less bleak coronavirus case figures in key hotspot regions, such as New York city and Italy.

      But many analysts are taking the surge with a grain of salt.

      "It is gleeful that we could be nearing the worst of the coronavirus from a health standpoint," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. But he cautioned that sentiment might be "too far ahead of itself with an assumption that things will go back to normal when the stay-at-home orders are lifted."

      Analysts expect more market volatility ahead as companies announce additional cutbacks and the economic slowdown hits company profits.

      In the last day, Boeing has suspended production at a big airplane factory in South Carolina, the last in operation, and Exxon Mobil has trimmed its capital budget.

London, April 6, 2020 — Asian and European equity markets rebounded on Monday as some of the world's worst-hit countries reported falling death rates, providing much-needed hope in the battle against coronavirus.

      While deadly COVID-19 continues its deadly sweep across the planet, with more than 1.25 million now declared infected and nearly 70,000 dead, news out of Europe that the rise of fatalities was easing has lifted spirits on trading floors.

      Italy reported its lowest daily death toll in two weeks, while Spanish officials said deaths fell for the third straight day and France reported its lowest daily toll in a week.

      In early afternoon eurozone deals, Frankfurt stocks rallied 4.5 per cent, Paris won 3.7 per cent, Madrid gained 3.0 per cent and Milan added 3.2 per cent.

      'Shrugging off pessimism'

      "European markets are trading higher because investors are shrugging off the pessimism," said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam.

      "They are focused on more optimistic things: the slowing death rate caused by coronavirus. Italy, Spain, France, and Germany have all seen declining numbers."

      London jumped 2.1 per cent nearing midday, with gains capped by news that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalised for precautionary tests after suffering "persistent" coronavirus symptoms for ten days.

      The pound, however, rose as officials insisted that Johnson was "still very much in charge of the government".

      Elsewhere, South Korea saw the fewest new cases in six weeks, Australian new infections were also dropping and Donald Trump said the US was showing signs of stabilising, despite the number of cases there passing 335,000 -- the highest in the world.

      Markets also shrugged off data on Friday showing a massive drop in US jobs in March that added to news that millions of people had applied for unemployment benefits.

      Tokyo, Sydney and Manila all rose more than four per cent, while Seoul, Singapore and Jakarta gained almost four per cent. Hong Kong jumped 2.2 per cent, while Shanghai was closed for a holiday.

WASHINGTON — Boeing has said it will indefinitely extend a shutdown at its factories in Washington state because of the coronavirus pandemic.

      The aerospace giant had already halted production at its Puget Sound facility near Seattle, where the company builds the long-range 777 jet and other models, after announcing a two-week stoppage last month.

      It had also shut its other major state factory at Moses Lake because of the 737 MAX grounding.

      Boeing said on Sunday that the shutdown would continue indefinitely in an effort to protect staff from COVID-19, which has already claimed the life of one employee at the company's Everett facility.

      "The health and safety of our employees, their families and our communities is our shared priority," Boeing's commercial airplanes division president Stan Deal said in a statement.

      Boeing was already facing significant headwinds prior to the coronavirus pandemic because of the crisis surrounding the 737 MAX, which has been grounded for more than a year following two fatal crashes.

      But the pandemic has further hit the company's outlook with most commercial airline travel suspended and major carriers thrust into a life-or-death fight.

      The company is seeking more than $60 billion in federal support for the US aerospace industry in the wake of the two crises.

      It announced a voluntary worker layoff plan on Thursday and said it expected "several thousand employees" to take a severance package or retire.

      Boeing currently employs around 70,000 people in Washington state.

LONDON — Volkswagen faces the threat of a hefty "dieselgate" payout in Britain after a court on Monday ruled in favour of more than 90,000 drivers whose vehicles cheated emissions tests.

      Following adverse rulings and compensation payouts elsewhere, the High Court in London ruled that the German auto giant was liable in Britain, too.

      The ruling adds pressure on Volkswagen just after the carmaker said last month it was preparing to shutter most of its European plants, joining a slew of other carmakers as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts supply chains and sends demand plummeting.

      The British judgement concerned "defeat devices" installed in about 1.2 million Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda diesel vehicles in Britain, which artificially lowered emissions.

      The court found the devices were a "fundamental subversion" of European Union tests designed to limit noxious pollutants, and will rule later on compensation to the owners.

      VW admitted in 2015 to fitting 11 million vehicles worldwide with software to make engines appear less polluting in regulatory tests than in real driving conditions.

      So far the legal fallout has cost VW more than 30 billion euros ($32.3 billion) globally in costs, fines and compensation, most of it in the United States and Germany.

      Gareth Pope, head of group litigation at Slater and Gordon, which represents around 70,000 of the British claimants, welcomed the "damning judgement".

      He said it "exposes VW's disregard for EU emissions regulations and public health in pursuit of profit and market dominance".

      Pope demanded VW end the "shameful episode" and settle with the plaintiffs. The company, however, said it would consider grounds for appeal.

      "While Volkswagen is disappointed that the outcome was not in our favour, the judgement relates only to preliminary issues," it said in a statement.

      It was still to be determined if the vehicle owners had suffered actual losses, the company insisted, adding: "We will continue to defend our position robustly."

ABU DHABI — The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) said on Sunday it has doubled to $70 billion a stimulus package to support the Gulf state's economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

      "The aggregate value of all capital and liquidity measures adopted by the CBUAE since 14 March 2020 has reached 256 billion dirhams ($70 billion)," the central bank said in a statement.

      Last month, the UAE announced stimulus worth $35 billion that included aid to the banking system, facilities for loans and injecting funds into the bourses.

      Most of the new measures focused on easing financial and liquidity requirements for banks to free up cash for lending.

      In the new measures, the central bank reduced by half to 7.0 per cent the reserves banks are required to keep for demand deposits, which can be withdrawn by clients anytime.

      This will allow for some $16.6 billion in liquidity to be used in new bank lending, the central bank said.

      The regulator's new measures also allow banks to defer payment of loans for companies and clients until the end of 2020.

      "The additional measures announced today will effectively relieve the pressure on financial institutions ... offering the required relief and continued access to funding for businesses and households," newly-appointed governor Abdulhamid Saeed said.

      The UAE, where 1,505 coronavirus cases and 10 deaths have been reported, has introduced strict measures including halting travel and closing shopping malls and entertainment venues.

      On Saturday night, Dubai, one of the seven emirates making up the UAE, announced a two-week lockdown in which it will carry out tests in densely populated areas.

      The bourse of Dubai has led the slide of the Gulf stock markets, shedding 36 per cent in the first quarter, most of it in March. Its UAE sister bourse in Abu Dhabi dropped by 26.4 per cent.

TEHRAN — Iran said on Sunday it will allow "low-risk" economic activities to resume from April 11 as its daily coronavirus infection rates slowed for a fifth straight day.

      "Restarting these activities does not mean we have abandoned the principle of staying at home," President Hassan Rouhani said at a meeting of Iran's anti-coronavirus task force.

      The president, whose country has been battered by US economic sanctions, did not specify what qualified as "low risk" activities but said bans would remain on schools and large gatherings.

      A "gradual" return of "low-risk" economic activity will be permitted from next Saturday in the provinces and from April 18 in Tehran, Rouhani said.

      The coronavirus pandemic claimed another 151 lives over the past 24 hours, raising Iran's declared death toll to 3,603, health ministry spokesman Kianouche Jahanpour said on Sunday at his daily press briefing.

      He also reported 2,483 new cases of COVID-19 infection, the fifth straight day of declining numbers, compared to a record number of 3,111 infections on March 31.

      Iran, the Middle East country worst affected by the pandemic which originated in China, has declared a total of 58,226 infections, a figure which some foreign experts suspect is an underestimate.

      After resisting a lockdown or quarantine measures, Iran imposed an intercity travel ban late last month.

      Saturday should have marked a return to regular activity in Iran after a two-week holiday for the Persian New Year.

      "There have been a lot of people out on the streets the last two days. It's terrifying," a Tehran housewife, Zohreh, told AFP.

      Jahanpour at his briefing criticised "those who think that the situation is normal now that the holidays are over, because it is not normal".

LONDON — The price of crude oil surged again on Friday after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it would talk to non-members, notably Russia, giving investors hope that they will stop a price war which has created market chaos along with crushed demand because of the coronavirus.

      The Saudi-led OPEC group of oil producers and their allies will meet on Monday via video conference, a source close to the cartel said.

      "There's certainly a lot of optimism that a deal is going to be done," OANDA analyst Craig Erlam told AFP.

      Global stock markets fell following another set of devastating American employment numbers, gloomy eurozone services data and news that the number of declared COVID-19 infections had hit one million worldwide.

      The US economy shed 701,000 jobs in March amid the damage inflicted by the coronavirus shutdowns -- several times the market's consensus forecast --  while the unemployment rate surged to 4.4 per cent, the Labour Department reported.

       'Likely to worsen'

      "The markets are digesting a larger-than-expected drop in March employment, which is likely to worsen on the heels of the past two weeks of spikes in jobless claims that approached the 10 million mark," said analysts at the Charles Schwab brokerage.

      OPEC's move sparked fresh speculation of an oil production cut, one day after US President Donald Trump sparked a record crude price rally by hinting that Russia and Saudi Arabia planned to end their price war with a sharp reduction in output.

      According to a Russian source cited by the TASS agency, US officials have also been invited to take part in the meeting.

      "It is in all parties' interests to agree to a significant cut," said Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets.

      But even a 10 million barrels per day reduction "is unlikely to be enough to push prices up much higher from here with demand on the floor", Hewson cautioned.

      Friday's oil price surge extended a dizzying recovery seen on Thursday.

      In the runup to the upswing, oil prices had plunged this year as the market reeled from the effects of the new coronavirus pandemic, with WTI shedding around 65 per cent of its value in the first quarter.

      A price war, triggered last month by Saudi after Moscow refused to tighten oil supply to counteract the sharp drop in demand, added to the bloodbath.

      'Recession knocking'

      Equity investors remain hostage to uncertainty as they try to gauge the long-term economic impact of the pandemic, which is widely expected to plunge the planet into recession.

      "The short-term impact of the coronavirus tragedy is straightforward: a complete shutdown of businesses worldwide is taking a heavy toll on the global economy," Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya told AFP.

      "The coronavirus outbreak hits all layers of the population, has had an impact on each and every single business regardless of their size, and paralyzed each and every household regardless of their wealth," she added.

      "You do not need to be an economist or an expert to predict a meaningful recession knocking on the door."

      Investors hoped that with trillions of dollars pledged in government support, wild volatility seen at the start of the crisis would give way to some form of stability.

      But key stock markets in Europe, after posting strong gains last week, posted hefty weekly losses going in the weekend, with US stock markets on track to follow suit.

 BAGHDAD — As crude prices plunge, Iraq's oil sector is facing a triple threat that has slashed revenues, risks denting production and may spell trouble for future exports.

      So what are the challenges facing the only significant industry in Iraq, as global oil prices fall to around $25 a barrel?

       How will Iraq pay the bills?

      The price crash means Iraq's monthly crude revenues were slashed by nearly half from February to just $2.99 billion in March.

      The second-biggest crude producer in the OPEC oil cartel, Iraq pays international oil companies (IOCs) about $3 billion quarterly to extract its crude. With oil so cheap, the government is desperately looking to cut costs and delay payments.

      Last week, the Basra Oil Company -- the state-owned firm coordinating production in the oil-rich southern province -- asked IOCs to accept a delay in six months' worth of payments and cut work budgets by 30 per cent, according to letters seen by AFP.

      "A delay in first quarter payments is necessary, and we asked for the second quarter just in case," said Khaled Hamza Abbas, BOC's assistant director and a signatory to the letter, telling AFP that oil companies had yet to respond.

      But IOCs are already taking independent action, according to internal letters seen by AFP.

      Oil superpower ExxonMobil immediately asked sub-contractors to "reduce overall cost" with other firms asking suppliers for discounts.

      "IOCs are cash-strapped," a source at the main operator in the south told AFP.

      The trouble does not stop there.

      IOCs expense Iraq at the end of each quarter for what it cost to extract crude, and the Iraqi government pays them in oil.

      "With the lower prices, the government would have to use virtually all its crude to pay oil companies and would have barely enough to sell," a top Iraqi official told AFP.

      Iraq relies on oil revenues for more than 90 per cent of state expenses. Its 2020 budget was based on an estimated barrel price of $56, more than twice the current rate.

      How is coronavirus affecting production?

      The spread of the novel coronavirus has severely disrupted rotations of key foreign nationals working at Iraq's oil fields, risking a drop in the usual 4.5 million barrel per day (bpd) production.

      To stem the spread of the respiratory illness, Iraq has shut its airports and imposed a countrywide lockdown until at least April 19, although many expect an extension.

      The Gharraf field in Dhi Qar province, which has produced up to 100,000 bpd, is offline after last month's evacuation of dozens of Malaysian workers by operator Petronas over COVID-19 fears, according to a source at the province's state-owned oil company.

      Most foreign oil workers live on the fields in Basra, and are currently stuck there beyond their normal six- to eight-week rotations due to travel bans.

      "We're seeking approvals for an exemption for foreign staff so that we can secure the rotating teams. These companies have internal rules and you can't keep the teams here for more than two months," said BOC's assistant director, Abbas.

      A source from a major European oil firm operating in Basra told AFP a halt to foreign staff rotations would be a bigger threat to production than payment delays.

      Britain's BP, too, would have to trim production if 4,000 British nationals working in the south could no longer travel.

      "There are no two ways about it," a source with knowledge of BP's operations told AFP.

      Who will buy Iraqi oil?

      The third threat is a global drop in oil demand for the first time in a decade, with the International Energy Agency expecting 2020 demand to decrease by 90,000 bpd, a sharp downgrade from forecasts it would grow by more than 800,000 bpd.

      "It has no equal in the history that we see such a strong decline in demand and a huge massive overhang of supply at the same time," IEA director general Fatih Birol told AFP.

      Two countries facing shrinking demands are India and China, where Iraq sells "the lion's share" of its crude, according to geopolitical analyst Noam Raydan.

      China, where the COVID-19 strain first emerged, is struggling through a huge economic slump and India just entered a three-week lockdown.

      April would be a make-or-break month, said Raydan, but the outlook is bleak considering Iraq's main rival in Asian markets, Saudi Arabia, intends to flood the oil market this month just as OPEC production limits expire.

      "Countries are stocking up on cheap oil. So even if we don't feel it now, the real problem will come in the next months when no one is buying," the Iraqi official said.

By Maya Gebeily

SINGAPOR — Oil rebounded strongly in Asian trade on Thursday on hopes for a US intervention to end a Saudi-Russia price war.

      Analysts said however the market remained hobbled by low demand because of business shutdowns amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, the grounding of air travel and other social distancing measures put in place to contain the outbreak.

      In afternoon Asian trade, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading 7.14 per cent higher at $21.76 a barrel.

      International benchmark Brent crude advanced 8.21 per cent to $26.77 a barrel.

      Both benchmarks fell to their lowest levels in 18 years on Monday, with WTI briefly dipping below $20 a barrel.

      "Oil prices are higher on news that President (Donald) Trump will hold a round table discussion with the country's top oil executives," said AxiCorp global market strategist Stephen Innes.

      The meeting is "presumably to discuss possible coordinated production curtailment measures in an attempt to buy some time for the struggling US shale industry," he said in a note.

      Innes said that Trump's "acknowledging of the problems in the oil patch is critical" as he could be instrumental in resolving the price war that has led to the supply glut.

      Phillip Futures in Singapore said oil prices were also supported by "reports that Russia does not want to boost its crude oil production in the current environment" and traders expecting US shale producers to "come under pressure to cut production".

      ANZ Bank said US crude prices were also being bolstered by reports that the US energy department might rent space in the country's emergency oil reserves to local producers.

      "This would help drillers store excess crude," it said.

      Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter, on Wednesday ramped up its price war with Russia, boosting crude oil supply to record levels.

      State giant Aramco offered 18.8 million barrels on a single day despite pressure from Washington.

SAN FRANCISCO — Xerox on Tuesday dropped its unwelcomed bid to buy computer and printer maker HP for about $36 billion, blaming market turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

      The end of the hostile takeover campaign came less than two months after the imaging and copying giant upped by about 10 per cent a bid rejected by the HP board of directors last year.

      "The current global health crisis and resulting macroeconomic and market turmoil caused by COVID-19 have created an environment that is not conducive to Xerox continuing to pursue an acquisition of HP," Xerox said in a statement.

      "While it is disappointing to take this step, we are prioritising the health, safety and well-being of our employees, customers, partners and other stakeholders, and our broader response to the pandemic."

      California-based HP had rejected the last Xerox bid as too low and contended that the takeover campaign was being driven by corporate raider Carl Icahn, who has a stake in Xerox.

      "His large ownership position in Xerox means that his interests are not aligned with those of other HP shareholders," an HP statement said in January.

      "Due to Mr Icahn's ownership position, he would disproportionately benefit from an acquisition of HP by Xerox at a price that undervalues HP."

      Xerox on Tuesday said it was also dropping its effort to elect a new slate of HP board members who had been expected to support the takeover deal.

      The current HP was created by the 2016 breakup of Hewlett-Packard, leaving the HP consumer division making printers and PCs, spinning off HP Enterprise for cloud computing and servers.

      "There remain compelling long-term financial and strategic benefits from combining Xerox and HP," Connecticut-based Xerox said in its statement on Tuesday.