Asian stocks rose to a fresh seven-week high on Thursday, lifted by encouraging early results from a COVID-19 treatment trial, though bonds and currencies held cautious ranges ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day.
Standard Chartered PLC said on Wednesday its first-quarter profit tumbled 12%, as the emerging markets-focused bank boosted provisions against bad loans as the coronavirus crisis hammers its borrowers.
The U.S. economy likely contracted in the first quarter at its sharpest pace since the Great Recession as stringent measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus almost shut down the country, ending the longest expansion in the nation's history.
Novartis on Wednesday won a new European approval for its inflammation drug Cosentyx in a form of arthritis, as the Swiss drugmaker predicts broadening use of its top-selling medicine will eventually push annual sales beyond $5 billion.
Volkswagen on Wednesday said it expected to be profitable on a full-year basis even as the coronavirus pandemic caused first-quarter earnings to plunge.
Daimler said it expected the operating profit of its Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans division to be above the prior-year level, even as the corona pandemic forced the Stuttgart-based car and trucks maker to abandon its outlook earlier this month.
Planemaker Airbus on Wednesday posted a 49% slump in first-quarter adjusted operating profit to 281 million euros ($304.7 million) as revenue dropped 15% to 10.631 billion euros amid the "gravest crisis the aerospace industry has ever known".
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Wednesday it expected profit to decline in the current quarter due to a coronavirus-related slump in sales of smartphones and TVs, although the chip business would remain solid.
Garbage haulers still collect trash. Cops are on the beat. Couriers deliver food and packages. Insurance agents work from home.
The Federal Reserve, which has pumped trillions in emergency funding into U.S. financial markets to stem the damage from the coronavirus pandemic, is expected on Wednesday to reiterate its promise to do whatever it takes to support the world's largest economy.
Standard Chartered PLC's first-quarter profit tumbled 12% on increased credit impairment and provisions for future loan losses as the coronavirus crisis hammered its borrowers, even as it expects an economic recovery later this year.
Britain's Fevertree Drinks said on Wednesday co-founder Charles Rolls plans to step down from his role as non-executive deputy chairman at the company's annual general meeting in June.
Daimler on Wednesday warned the carmaker faces a difficult second quarter as it hiked credit risk provisions to anticipate rising delinquencies among customers who leased or bought Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.
British clothing retailer Next said on Wednesday total product sales in its latest quarter crashed 41%, reflecting the closure of all its stores in the coronavirus lockdown and the temporary shutdown of its online operations.
Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd said on Wednesday it did not intend to take any new aircraft deliveries this year because of the sharp fall in demand from the coronavirus crisis, and was revisiting its order book with Airbus SE .