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TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are rising, riding a wave of optimism about a possible treatment for the coronavirus that set off a rally on Wall Street. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and the Shanghai Composite gained in Thursday morning trading. Markets in South Korea and Hong Kong were closed for holidays. Gilead Sciences said its experimental drug proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major U.S. government study. That overrided dismal data showing the pandemic drove the U.S. economy to its worst quarterly performance since the Great Recession. The S&P 500 vaulted 2.7% higher, extending a rally that’s brought the U.S. stock market to the brink of its best month in 45 years.
BEIJING (AP) — China's manufacturing activity weakened in April as the coronavirus pandemic clobbered global consumer demand, hampering Beijing’s efforts to revive the world’s second-largest economy. Surveys by a Chinese magazine and an official industry group showed activity slipped back after rebounding in March following the closure of much of China's economy to fight the virus. A sub-measure for exports plunged. China became the first major economy to reopen factories in March after the ruling Communist Party declared victory over the outbreak. But the United States, Europe and other major markets have yet to lift controls that are depressing consumer spending.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the federal government’s coronavirus social distancing guidelines will be “fading out” when they expire Thursday and states pivot to reopening. The administration says the guidance issued 45 days ago has been incorporated into recommendations given to states on how they can begin the process of gradually reopening their economies. Meanwhile, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, describes the administration’s response to the pandemic as “a great success story" and predictes that by July the country will be "rocking again.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The response from the federal Bureau of Prisons to the growing coronavirus crisis has raised alarm among advocates and lawmakers about whether the agency is doing enough to ensure the safety of the nearly 150,000 inmates serving time in federal facilities. And even though officials have stressed infection and death rates inside prisons are lower compared with outside, new figures provided by the Bureau of Prisons show that out of 2,700 tests systemwide, 2,000 have come back positive, strongly suggesting there are far more COVID-19 cases left uncovered.
UNDATED (AP) — South Korea has reported four more cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the first time that its daily jump has marked below five in about two months. The Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Thursday that the additional figures took the country’s total to 10,765 with 247 deaths. It says 9,059 of them have recovered and been released from quarantine. It says the four new cases are all imported ones and that there were no newly reported cases of local infections. Local media said it’s the first time for South Korea to have no daily increase of local infections since Feb. 15.
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