Equities rose Thursday following a record lead from Wall Street, with investors cheered by hopes for a coronavirus vaccine and positive economic data offsetting fresh lockdowns.

Markets mostly rose in Asia on Wednesday as investors looked past spiking coronavirus infections and warnings of a US surge in the disease, with eyes on the economic recovery as countries press ahead with the easing of lockdowns.

Saudis braced Wednesday for a tripling in value added tax, another unpopular austerity measure after the twin shocks of coronavirus and an oil price slump triggered the kingdom's worst economic decline in decades.

Britain's economy has suffered its biggest quarterly contraction for more than 40 years as the coronavirus pandemic slashed activity, revised official data showed Tuesday.

Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell will take a vast second-quarter charge of up to $22 billion (19.6 billion euros) due to coronavirus and collapsing oil prices, it announced Tuesday.

Asian equity markets fell Monday after a surge in coronavirus infections in several countries, including the US, prompted officials to reimpose containment measures that have fanned worries about the economic recovery.

Boeing's 737 MAX plane could take its first test flight from Monday, a crucial step for the survival of the company's star model that has been grounded for 14 months.

Swedish clothing giant H&M said Friday it slumped to a near 500 million euro second quarter loss as the coronavirus pandemic forced it to close more outlets than planned.

The worst of the economic crisis unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic is likely over, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said Friday, warning however that the new normal will look different from what was before.

A sharp rise in fresh virus infections in the United States and elsewhere sparked a hard sell-off in equities Thursday, following hefty losses on Wall Street and in Europe.