Stocks turn higher as nations look to reopen, but oil slides

TOKYO (AP) — Stock markets turned higher Tuesday after a mixed session in Asia as governments inch toward letting businesses reopen and central banks step in with still more support for ailing economies. The price of oil, however, extended its losses.

From Rome, Georgia, to Rome, Italy, companies are watching as politicians detail plans to ease up on restrictions that were meant to slow the coronavirus pandemic but also have erased businesses and jobs.

With central banks and governments promising huge amounts of aid for the economy, some investors are focusing on the potential return of growth as the outbreak levels off in some areas.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 gained 1.3% to 4,563, while Germany’s DAX rose 1.5% to 10,817. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 1.5% to 5,934.

U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures adding 1.3% and S&P 500 futures gaining 1.2%.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged Monday after the central bank lifted its ceiling on purchases of government bonds and other assets that it uses to pump more cash into the economy. It edged 0.1% lower Tuesday, to close at 19,771.19.

“Yesterday’s Bank of Japan ‘Whatever it takes’ announcement could be viewed positively by investors,” said Robert Carnell, regional head of research, Asia Pacific, at ING, of the Bank of Japan’s monetary easing Monday. “Basically, the monetary spigots are wide open.”

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.6% after fluctuating much of the day, to 1,934.09. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 5,313.10. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.2% to 24,575.96, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 2,810.02.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is holding its own monetary policy meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, though it is not expected to add to the huge amounts...