Chairman Jerome Powell said the current economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic was "the most severe in our lifetimes".

"At the Federal Reserve, we remain committed to using our tools to do what we can, and for as long as it takes, to provide some relief and stability, to ensure that the recovery will be as strong as possible, and to limit lasting damage to the economy," he said.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is nearing 17 million, according to Johns Hopkins University today, with the US recording more than 4.4 million cases and 150,000 deaths.

US markets closed higher, while European and Australasian markets were mixed, as were futures.

Harte Gold (TSX: HRT) was among the market risers in Toronto, closing up 18% after announcing all mining activities had restarted at its Sugar Zone mine in Canada, having teed up financing for the restart earlier this month. 

China's economic recovery had lost some momentum as the rebound in consumer demand had stalled, Marex Spectron's Anna Stablum said citing a Bloomberg report.

There would be better insight into the recovery on Friday when Chinese manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs were released, she said.

Elsewhere, Rio Tinto rose 0.69% in London and Freeport-McMoRan rose 0.53% in New York.

Barrick Gold closed down 2.89% in Toronto and in Australia, BHP was up 0.96% in early trade.