Struggling automakers Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi unveiled Wednesday a plan to deepen cooperation in their alliance that would see them develop nearly half of cars jointly by 2025 to cut costs and boost profitability.

Asian equities mostly fell Wednesday as profit-taking and worries about deteriorating China-US relations outweighed optimism over the gradual reopening of economies around the world.

Global stock markets were firmer Monday, buoyed by the prospect of further easing of coronavirus lockdowns despite sharp increases in case rates in some countries such as Brazil.

Coronavirus-stricken German airline group Lufthansa has agreed in principle a nine-billion-euro ($9.8 billion) rescue deal that would see the government come onboard as a shareholder, sources told AFP Monday.

Cancelled shipments, returned goods and a dearth of new orders have left China exporters in crisis as the coronavirus hits its trading partners worldwide -- accelerating a long-standing push towards domestic consumption.

For automakers Renault and Nissan, the world is currently a very different place to what it had been just a few short months ago.

Egypt's cabinet has preliminarily approved a bill that taxes one percent of citizens' salaries to cushion the impact of coronavirus on strained government finances, sparking online criticism.

Beijing will issue 3.75 trillion yuan ($526 billion) in special government bonds this year, said Premier Li Keqiang on Friday, in a bid to boost infrastructure spending in the virus-hit economy.

China took the rare move of not setting an annual growth target this year after the coronavirus battered the world's second-largest economy and ravaged global growth, Premier Li Keqiang said Friday.

Asian markets fluctuated Thursday after rallying for much of the week, with any gains dragged by profit-taking while concerns over the long-term impact of the virus and worsening China-US relations added to the selling pressure.