GlOBAL MARKETS-Stocks climb as investors digest grim U.S. jobs data

(Updates with midday trading data)
By David Randall
NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - World equity markets climbed
on Thursday on the back of a surge in risky assets like oil,
offsetting concerns over an increasing death toll from the
coronavirus pandemic that is expected to push the global economy
into a recession.
Investors sought the safety of the U.S. dollar and
government bonds. Oil futures were among the few risk assets
that advanced, with benchmarks surging 25% after U.S. President
Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach a
deal soon to end their oil price war.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
rose 0.85% after broad declines in Europe and Japan. European
shares lost their early gains after data showed weekly jobless
claims in the U.S. jumped to a record 6.6 million, double the
record from the previous week.
In midday trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI rose 331.67 points, or 1.58%, to 21,275.18, the
S&P 500 .SPX gained 44.11 points, or 1.79%, to 2,514.61 and
the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 110.17 points, or 1.5%, to to
7,470.75.
"The rise is unprecedented, what it tells us is that the
U.S. economy is going into a full sudden stop," said Gennadiy
Goldberg, interest rate strategist at TD Securities in New York.
"Markets have to digest the fact that all the workers being
laid off, while they are still receiving some added assistance
from the government, they are not going out and still not
spending, so they are still not adding to GDP."
Investors sought the perceived safety of government bonds.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 11/32 in
price to yield 0.6017%, from 0.635% late on Wednesday.
The World Health Organization said the global case count
would reach 1 million and the death toll 50,000 in the next few
days. It currently stands at 46,906. U.S. President Donald Trump, who had initially played down
the outbreak, told reporters at the White House on Wednesday
that he is considering a plan to halt flights to coronavirus hot
zones in the United States.
In currency markets, the dollar stood rose 0.652% against a
basket of six major currencies =USD after a gain of 0.53%
overnight. The euro traded down 1% at $1.0852 as the dollar
advanced. Brent crude LCOc1 futures jumped 25% to $30.84. U.S. West
Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures soared 25% to
$25.39.
Trump said he had talked recently with the leaders of both
Russia and Saudi Arabia and believed the two countries would
make a deal within a "few days" to lower production and thereby
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Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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