Sweden's AB Volvo reported a smaller-than-expected fall in quarterly operating earnings on Thursday as service sales held up in the face of tumbling sales and orders of its trucks as demand evaporated in the face of the coronavirus.
Oil surged on Thursday amid signs that producers are cutting production to weather a collapse in demand as the coronavirus outbreak ravages world economies, while the U.S. state of Oklahoma also moved to help oil firms pump less.
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co said on Thursday first-quarter net profit slumped 44% to its lowest level for the quarter in a decade, as the coronavirus hit demand in China and due to losses at its financial business.
Aston Martin said on Thursday it plans to restart its St Athan factory in south Wales on May 5 and will also resume operations at Gaydon later, after the coronavirus-led shutdowns forced the luxury car maker to suspend production at both sites.
Sweden's AB Volvo on Thursday warned of weakening truck demand despite reporting a smaller-than-expected fall in quarterly operating earnings helped by service sales.
Zoom Video Communications Inc said on Wednesday it was upgrading the encryption features on its video conferencing app to quell safety concerns as its users surged by 50% in the past three weeks.
Caution gripped markets on Thursday, with stocks falling before a key Eurogroup meeting to discuss joint stimulus measures, offsetting optimism from a fresh round of U.S. coronavirus aid and a recovery in oil prices.
Volkswagen AG is making masks in China for distribution to Volkswagen plant employees in Europe, the German automaker said on Thursday as it prepares to restart European production.
Renault is in talks with the French government to secure a state-backed loan worth several billion euros to shore up its liquidity during the coronavirus pandemic, the French carmaker said on Thursday.
The dollar slipped against the currencies of oil-producing states on Thursday, giving up earlier gains as a bounce in crude prices gave succour to markets shaken by the massive coronavirus-induced drop in demand.
German car and truck maker Daimler reported a plunge of nearly 70% in first-quarter operating profit on Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic and warned that the cash flow it uses to pay dividends would fall this year.
The International Air Transport Association's vice president for the Middle East said on Thursday that the industry body was not satisfied with regional government's efforts to support their airlines.
Italian digital services company Triboo said on Thursday it had started selling antibody tests for Covid-19 produced by China's SOBC Outdo Biotech, as Italy draws closer to easing the lockdown measures imposed to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
German sportswear firm Adidas plans a multi-billion euro bond so that it no longer needs the state-backed loan it agreed to take earlier this month to help it get through the coronavirus crisis, Manager Magazine reported on Thursday.
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co said on Thursday it expects only a modest recovery in Chinese auto demand and weak sales elsewhere this year after the coronavirus pandemic caused first-quarter vehicle sales to tumble 18%.