• Asian equities flash mixed signals as global policymakers haggle over the stimulus plan amid a surge in the coronavirus cases.
• EU summit drags without any agreement, US policymakers House Leader McConnell may disappoint markets.
• Chinese blue-chips buck the trend, stocks in Australia and Indonesia stand on the other hand.

Asian shares struggle for a clear direction while heading into the European open on Monday. While Chinese blue-chip bulls anchor the region’s optimism, fears of the coronavirus (COVID-19) woes drag the Australian and Japanese counterparts to the south.

That said, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares ex-Japan gains around 0.40% whereas Japan’s Nikkei 225 declines 0.18% to 22,670 by the press time. Furthermore, Australia’s ASX 200 marks 0.60% losses amid worsening virus conditions in Victoria but stocks in China rise over 1.5%, on average, even if the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced no rate change.

Furthermore, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rises 0.30% to 25,161 and so does India’s BSE Sensex that adds 1.0% to 37,400 as we write. However, Indonesia’s IDX Composite refrains from respecting Bank Indonesia (BI) Deputy Governor Dody Budi Waluyo’s upbeat comments. It’s worth mentioning that the European Futures remain downbeat as the regional leaders haggle over an aid package of 750 billion Euros. On the other hand, fears of the double-dip recession in the US keep the S&P 500 Futures down 0.40% as we write.

The US 10-year Treasury yields drop 1.1 basis points (bps) to 0.617% while New Zealand’s NZX 50 drops 0.10% even as finance minister Grant Robertson said that the economy doing better than expected.

Looking forward, traders will keep eyes on the headlines from the EU summit for immediate direction while also respecting the COVID-19 news as and when arrives.