By Joanne Chiu

U.S. stock-index futures edged up and some equity markets in the Asia-Pacific region advanced, while oil prices crept higher after registering fresh multiyear lows.

Still, as the last day of March began, global stocks were poised to close out their worst quarter since the depths of the global financial crisis, with the coronavirus pandemic chilling economic activity and rattling investor confidence.

The MSCI All Country World Index had fallen more than 19.9% in the year to Monday, FactSet data showed. That put it on track for its biggest quarterly decline since late 2008. The benchmark covers stocks in 49 developed and emerging markets, although U.S. stocks account for more than 56% of its performance.

The index has shed 12.6% so far this month, which if sustained would be the largest monthly drop since October 2008.

S&P 500 futures inched up 0.4% in early Tuesday trading in Hong Kong, suggesting U.S. markets could be relatively steady when they open later on Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, a security that is seen as a haven, rose to 0.721%, according to Tradeweb, from 0.667% on Monday. Yields move in the opposite direction of prices.

Benchmark indexes in Australia and New Zealand rose 2% to 3%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was little changed, while South Korea's Kospi Composite gained more than 1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both rose more than 3% on Monday, with news on progress of medical measures to combat the novel coronavirus helping lift some stocks. Abbott Laboratories said U.S. authorities had approved an emergency-use coronavirus test, while Johnson & Johnson said it had made progress on a vaccine to prevent Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

West Texas Intermediate, the main U.S. crude gauge, rebounded 2.7% at $20.64 a barrel, after it settled at an 18-year low Monday. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose more than 1.2% to $26.73 a barrel.

The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against 16 other currencies, was little changed at 93.69. It has declined about 2.6% in the last five days as a surge in demand for dollars has abated.

Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 30, 2020 21:31 ET (01:31 GMT)

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