Investor sentiment received a boost amid optimism that the number of coronavirus cases in New York, a U.S. hotspot for the pandemic, may be peaking, after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed hope the country was seeing a "levelling off" of the coronavirus crisis. New York State reported its first decline in the number of daily coronavirus-related deaths as well as hospitalizations on Sunday. Major European nations reported lower coronavirus-related fatality toll in France and Italy, with Italy seeing the number of patients in intensive care falling for the second consecutive day. However, a rise in cases and deaths in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines kept gains under check.
Developments on the global coronavirus virus pandemic continue to be watched, as concerns over the virus' economic impact have sent markets into a whirlwind in recent weeks. Globally, more than 1.2 million have been infected while at least 65,711 lives have been taken by the virus, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.
Investors also remained focused on oil prices. Oil prices skid on Monday after meeting between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, initially set to take place Monday, was delayed. Brent crude fell as much as $3 in early Asian trading after Saudi Arabia and Russia postponed a meeting over a potential pact to cut production to Thursday.
Energy stocks climbed after crude oil prices climbed 12% on Friday. Santos (STO) rallied 8.5% while Beach Energy (BPT) lifted 10.4%. Origin Energy (ORG) rose 4%. Its Energy Markets guidance remains intact for FY20 with earnings (EBITDA) of A$1.4-A$1.5 billion. It is also closely monitoring customer's ability to pay energy bills. Caltex (CTX) is bringing forward the planned shutdown of its Lytton refinery to May 2020. It expects to keep the site shut until margin conditions have sufficiently recovered. Oil Search is in a trading halt ahead of an expected capital raising announcement.
In the mining space, Fortescue Metals grew more than 1%, while Rio Tinto and BHP rose almost 1% each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining rose more than 4% and Newcrest Mining added more than 3% as safe-haven gold prices also rose on Friday.
Flight Centre Travel Group shares were in a trading halt after travel firm's is tapping investors for A$700 million and has secured an additional $200 million in loans from existing lenders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.688 after crossing the 100 level last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6017 after declining from levels above $0.609 last week.
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