Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday issued his sober review of an economy slammed by a record pace of job losses and bracing for worse ahead as most U.S. states moved toward reopening

following lockdowns aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures.HSIc1 slipped 0.92 percent, Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures fell 1.07 percent, while Japan's

Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.05 percent. “We’re picking up from what was a negative session in offshore markets - New York in particular,” said Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy

for National Australia Bank in Sydney.

Wall Street's three major indexes closed lower for the second day in a row, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.17 percent, the S&P 500 lost 1.75 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite  

dropped or 1.55.

Still, Powell downplayed of the idea of using negative interest rates pushed the U.S. dollar higher against a basket of currencies.

The US Dollar Currency Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against six major currencies, was up 0.23 percent.

9.30pm update: 76 percent of firms apply for furlough scheme – ONS confirms

More than three-quarters of British firms have applied for the government's emergency job retention scheme to help them through the coronavirus lockdown, according to an official survey.

The Office for National Statistics confirmed a huge 76 percent of the companies have now applied for the scheme – up from 66 percent in the previous fortnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 157.61 points, or 0.68 percent to 23,405.58.

The S&P 500 gained 6.31 points, or 0.22 percent to 2,826.31.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 18.64 points, or 0.21 percent to 8,844.53.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed down 2.2 percent to hit its lowest level since April 22.

6.45pm update: Pound crashes against US dollar and euro – worst yet to come

The pound continues to tumble against the US dollar and euro as the coronavirus crisis puts the UK economy on the brink of a recession - with one expert warning "the worst is yet to come".

Sterling is in its fourth consecutive day of losses and is the worst performing G10 currency so far this month.

The pound has fallen more than three percent against the US dollar since the end of April.

Meanwhile against the euro, the pound hit a six-week low on Wednesday and has failed to make any significant gains this afternoon.

Vassilis Karamanis FX & Rates Strategist at Bloomberg warned the pound is showing little sign of recovery and predicts a further slide is one the way.

He said: “As the pound extends the deepest slump among developed-world currencies.

“A host of market indicators are converging to suggest the worst is yet to come.”

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4.10pm update: WHO warns Sunak of vicious cycle of economic and health disasters

Britain could be on the brink of an economic and public health disaster if coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted too early, a World Health Organisation (WHO) chief has warned.

Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies program, has issued a stark message to world leaders that lifting restrictions prematurely risks a “vicious cycle” of economic and

health problems.

At a press conference in Geneva, Dr Ryan also insisted it is a “false equation” to choose between finances and people’s lives.

He said: “This is what we all fear, is a vicious cycle of public health disaster followed by economic disaster followed by public health disaster followed by economic disaster.

“If you reopen in the presence of a high degree of virus transmission, then that transmission may accelerate.”

Government borrowing could hit £298.4billion this due to the coronavirus crisis, the Office for Budget Responsibility has stated. 

This is an increase from £272.9billion which was predicted last month due to the extension fo the furlough scheme. 

US unemployment numbers continued to rise after the country's Labor Department reported a further 2.981 million people applied for benefits for the week ending May 9. 

The week before saw 3.176 million applied for unemployment while the country lost 20.5 million jobs in April. 

The French government has unveiled a package worth €18billion (£15.9billion) package to help the industry which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. 

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said: "Tourism is facing what is probably its worst challenge in modern history. 

"Because this is one of the crown jewels of the French economy, rescuing it is a national priority.

"This very French pleasure, which is at the heart of our identity, to meet up, eat well and have a chat, has been compromised by the lockdown first, and then the conditions of lifting that

lockdown."

As of 12.50pm, the stock exchange is 160.49 points down and trading at 5,743.92. 

12.42pm update: Public sector borrowing rises

The Office for Budget Responsibility has revealed a public sector borrowing could stand at £298.4billion in a scenario where the lockdown last for three months followed by a three-month

period whereby restrictions are lifted. 

This figure represents a £25.5billion increase in the previous forecast. 

11.32am update: Payment holidays may affect future mortgage applications

Taking a payment on a mortgage or any form of debt may have an effect on future application, research by MoneySavingExprt.com suggests. 

Despite promises that credit scores would not be affected, a lender may still factor in the mortgage freeze on future applications. 

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed, sadly, that while credit files shouldn't be impacted by mortgage or other payment

holidays, lenders are still allowed to take them into account when making their acceptance decisions.

"It's impossible to say yet how widespread this will be or how substantial the impact will be - we'll start to learn that over the next year. Each lender's assessment process is different,

it's a dark art that's hidden from the public and never published, so this is likely to be yet another factor applicants will need to navigate."

Hong Kong's, Hang Seng Index finished trading 350.56 points down (1.45 percent) to 23,829.74 points. 

As of 10.03am this morning, the FTSE 100 has fallen by 128.93 points to 5,773.87 (2.2 percent). 

Eurozone bond yields continued to fall today as markets continued to fear a second wave. 

Due to a rise in outbreaks in China and South Korea, 10-year German bond yields dropped two points.

Italian 10-year bond yields were unchanged at 1.81% after falling 9 basis points on Wednesday.

UniCredit analysts said: "Given that the data calendar remains very light again today, and primary market activity will also be quiet in the euro area, with only Ireland set to sell bonds,

we expect eurozone government bond yields to trade broadly sideways."

The Shanghai Stock Exchange has finished 0.96 percent down today.

The market finished at 2,870.34, down 27.71 points in trading. 

The FTSE 100 has begun trading today at 5,828.31, 79.54 points down (1.28 percent) at the time of writing. 

7.21am update: Donald Trump warns trade deals can't outweigh COVID-19

In a tweet, the US President said the benefits from the trade deal with China were outweighed by what he termed as the "plague from China". 

He said: "As I have said for a long time, dealing with China is a very expensive thing to do.

"We just made a great Trade Deal, the ink was barely dry, and the World was hit by the Plague from China.

"100 Trade Deals wouldn’t make up the difference - and all those innocent lives lost!"

7.09am update: "Risk to US economy of reopening too slowly"

Steve Mnuchin, the US Treasury Secretary has said the economy will be reopened slowly but warned taking too long will risk severe economic damage. 

"But there is also a risk that we wait too long, there is a risk of destroying the US economy and the health impact that that creates."

6.19am update: Fed's Powell shows no love for negative rates

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had a clear message to interest rate futures traders on Wednesday: Bets that the U.S. central bank will pursue a negative interest-rate policy are

off-base.

The Fed’s top official became the latest in a parade of policymakers to brush off the notion that they might push rates into negative territory after futures tied to Fed interest rate policy

expectations recently began pricing a small chance of sub-zero U.S. rates within the next year.

“The committee’s view on negative rates really has not changed. This is not something that we are looking at,” Powell said in answer to a question during an event hosted by the Peterson

Institute for International Economics, as he referenced the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

A number of major central banks - including the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank - have implemented negative-rate policies in the years since the 2007-2009 financial crisis because

their sluggish economies have failed to produce the desired level of inflation.

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