European shares rose on Thursday as daily coronavirus death tolls in Spain and Italy eased, while a defiant statement on the crisis from two of the continent's big budget airlines helped battered travel stocks recover.
Ciara Lee reports
European shares bounce as airlines pitch recovery
Asian stock markets retreated from their highest levels for a month on Thursday (April 16) and the dollar extended gains as the damage to the world economy soured appetite for risk.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost about 1%, wiping out early-week gains.
U.S. crude sat just above an 18-year low hit on Wednesday (April 15), although Brent crude rose 1% in Asian trade.
The IMF is predicting zero growth in Asia this year for the first time in 60 years, as exporters are pounded by slumping demand.
China is expected to report on Friday (April 17) that the health crisis knocked its economy into its first decline on record.
It was a brighter picture in Europe during morning trades.
Shares rose as daily death tolls in Spain and Italy eased.
A defiant statement on the crisis from two of the continent's big budget airlines helped battered travel stocks recover.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index added 1%, climbing for the sixth time in seven days.
The travel and leisure subindex was boosted by a jump for budget carrier easyJet, which rose as much as 6%.
It said it has enough cash reserves to survive a lengthy fleet grounding.
Bigger rival Ryanair said on Wednesday it was steeling itself for an airline price war that it expected to win, once travel curbs are lifted and passengers flock back to tourist destinations.