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· Dow futures up more than 100 points as oil declines; traders weigh prospects of re-opening the economy

Stocks futures were higher in early Monday morning trade, as oil prices fell, while investors assessed the possibility of re-opening the global economy after the coronavirus outbreak.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 177 points, implying a Monday opening gain of around 168 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also pointed to a higher Monday open for the two indexes. West Texas Intermediate futures were down more than 10% at $15.18 per barrel.

· Asian shares bounced on Monday as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced more stimulus steps to help cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus, while oil took another spill as the world ran short of space to store it.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.8%, taking back a chunk of last week's 2.6% decline. Japan's Nikkei .N225 gained 2.6%, and Chinese blue chips .CSI300 1%.

The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank meet later in the week, with the latter likely to do more bond buying.

“For the Fed, no further developments on QE or interest rates are expected, but we expect it to underline that its policies will be in place indefinitely to support the economy,” ANZ wrote in a research note.

“We expect the ECB to raise the size of its emergency bond buying package (PEPP) by around 500 billion euros to 1.250 trillion and to continue pressing for a sizeable fiscal stimulus.”

· Japanese shares rose sharply on Monday as some better-than-expected earnings and a rise in U.S. stock futures lifted market sentiment.

The benchmark Nikkei average advanced 2.7% to 19,783.22, its highest closing since April 17, with the Nikkei volatility index, considered a fear gauge based on option pricing, falling 9.8% to 34.9.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 climbed 1.2% by late Asian trade after a soft start, providing an extra boost to Japanese stocks.

The overall impact of BOJ’s decision on the market was modest, especially as the central bank left the annual pace of its purchases of exchanged traded funds (ETFs) and Japanese real estate investment trusts (J-REITs) unchanged.

· China shares closed higher on Monday, as the country reported a drop in fresh coronavirus cases and amid hopes for further stimulus to cushion the economic fallout of the pandemic.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.25% at 2,815.49, as investors also awaited the rescheduled date for the parliament’s key annual meeting. The index narrowed from early gains of 0.7% by the mid-day break.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.68%, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 1.12%, the consumer staples sector up 1.1%, the real estate index up 1.03% and the healthcare sub-index up 1.97%.

The top body of China’s parliament kicked off its four-day bi-monthly meeting in the capital city of Beijing on Sunday. China Daily reported the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress is expected to decide on the date of the key annual meeting of parliament this year on Wednesday.

· European shares rise on airline surge, upbeat earnings

European shares rose on Monday, as airline stocks soared on hopes of state support, while a slew of upbeat earnings added to optimism over signs many countries would soon ease tough lockdown measures.

Shares of Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) jumped 7.2%, with Berlin expected to decide on state support, while Air France KLM (AIRF.PA) rose 5.2% after the government said it would give a 7-billion-euros ($7.6 billion) aid package.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1.7% by 0720 GMT, following gains in Asian markets after the Bank of Japan pledged to buy unlimited amount of bonds to keep borrowing costs low.