Battle between economic optimism and fears about inflation and possible rate hikes that recovery will fuel has continued to play out on trading floors.
Prices recently crashed as the coronavirus pandemic saps global demand, with the situation compounded by a supply glut resulting from a price war between Opec cartel kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-Opec rival Russia.
The US Senate unanimously passed a $2-trillion bill aimed at helping unemployed workers and industries hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as providing billions of dollars to buy urgently needed medical equipment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 9.4 percent, its best gain since October 2008, as stocks doubled their gains in the last half-hour as Presidential Donald Trump held a press conference on the administration's response to the coronavirus.
As the death toll from the Chinese epidemic jumped to 80 with those affected worldwide approaching 3,000, analysts say there are growing fears the crisis could become as bad as the SARS outbreak that hammered Asian markets in 2003.
Asian equities were shaky following a Christmas eve Wall Street plunge, as investors remain wary of chaos in Washington, President Trump's attack on the nominally independent Federal Reserve, and a partial government shutdown over a border wall.
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