A historic wave of selling in global stock markets eased on Friday as nervous investors looked to central banks and governments for support as the economic costs of the novel coronavirus outbreak continued to mount.

Major indexes across Asia Pacific plunged in early trade, prompting some exchanges to activate circuit breakers and bring trading to a temporary halt. But many benchmarks traced back some of their losses by the end of trading.

US stocks futures advanced and European markets opened in positive territory. Benchmark indexes in Germany, France and the United Kingdom gained more than 3% as regional stocks bounced back from their worst day in history on Thursday, according to CNN.

It’s not clear what triggered the shift in sentiment. But there are a handful of promising signs from central banks and lawmakers that could be fueling hope.