March 19 (Reuters) - Moody's:
* MOODY'S SAYS GOVERNMENTS OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND STIMULUS PACKAGES UNDERSCORE CAPACITY TO USE FISCAL POLICY TO SUPPORT DEMAND
* MOODY'S SAYS ECONOMIC RELIEF MEASURES HIGHLIGHT STRONG INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY OF NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA TO DEVELOP EMERGENCY FISCAL RESPONSES
* MOODY'S SAYS AUSTRALIA'S MEASURES ARE ON SMALLER SCALE, TARGET ECONOMY'S WORST AFFECTED SECTORS, WHEREAS NEW ZEALAND'S USES WIDER RANGE OF FISCAL POLICY TOOLS
* MOODY'S SAYS EXPECT MODERATE WEAKENING IN AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND GOVTS' FISCAL POSITIONS, WITH AUSTRALIA'S SURPLUS TURNING TO DEFICIT IN FISCAL 2020
* MOODY'S SAYS DO NOT VIEW NEAR-TERM BUDGETARY EXPANSION BY AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AS SIGNIFICANTLY THREATENING THEIR FISCAL STRENGTH