GLOBAL MARKETS-World shares mixed amid hopes for business pickup; oil slides

(Adds close of European market)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - Oil prices slid and world equity
markets seesawed on Wednesday as investor hopes for a pickup in
business activity were weighed against downbeat economic data
and low fuel demand highlighted by a rise in U.S. crude
stockpiles to three-year highs.
The safe-haven Japanese yen and dollar rose on data showing
U.S. private payrolls tumbled to a record 20.2 million in April,
German industrial orders fell at a record pace in March and
British construction activity fell to an all-time low last
month.
The dollar index =USD rose 0.279%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.3% to $1.0805. The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.54%
versus the greenback at 106.05 per dollar.
Retail sales in the euro zone also suffered their largest
decline on record in March. Demand has collapsed globally because of the coronavirus
epidemic and many investors see the prospect of a swift recovery
as difficult, despite the gradual opening of economies worldwide
that has given hope to others.
Trying to gauge economic growth in light of the pandemic has
sent investors searching for new insights, especially in China
as its economy was first to reopen, said Yousef Abbasi, global
market strategist at INTL FCStone Financial Inc in New York.
"When are you going to see those businesses retake capacity
comparable to the last year? That's the big question," Abbasi
said. "It really is about where you think demand is going to
come back or where you think demand never really dropped off."
Technology stocks led gainers as stocks perceived to be
resilient to a changing economic and work environment.
"The leadership has come from stocks that benefit from
stay-at-home economy," said Jack Janasiewicz, portfolio
strategist at Natixis Investment Managers.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed down
0.35%while MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe
.MIWD00000PUS gained 0.02%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
26.73 points, or 0.11%, to 23,856.36. The S&P 500 .SPX gained
1.93 points, or 0.07%, to 2,870.37 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 100.47 points, or 1.14%, to 8,909.59.
The blue-chip Dow came under pressure from declines in oil
giant Chevron Corp CVX.N as crude prices fell. The S&P 500
energy sub-index .SPNY dropped 1.7%.
General Motors Co GM.N jumped 4.1% after the automaker
topped profit expectations and outlined plans for a May 18
restart of most of its North American plants. CVS Health Corp CVS.N gained 1.2% after reporting a
better-than-expected quarterly profit. Oil slid below $30 a barrel as crude stocks rose and
gasoline demand remained below normal seasonal levels, snapping
a six-day winning streak for Brent futures that helped the
global benchmark almost double in price from a 21-year low on
April 22.
U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI rose by 4.6 million
barrels in the week to May 1 to 532.2 million barrels, compared
with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 7.8
million-barrel rise. EIA/S
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 6.03% to $23.08 per barrel and Brent
LCOc1 was at $28.96, down 6.49% on the day.
Healthcare stocks .SXDP rose in Europe on the back of
better-than-expected quarterly results from Denmark's Novo
Nordisk NOVOb.CO and German dialysis specialist Fresenius
Medical Care FMEG.DE . "Earnings season is not great, but it's really the issue of
the virus and the end of the lockdown, and sentiment towards
that will push the market," said Francois Savary, chief
investment officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime Partners.
China opened for the first time since Thursday and reversed
early losses, sending its blue-chip index .CSI300 up 0.6%.
In a move seen by analysts as offering a olive branch to
Washington amid bilateral trade tensions, China's central bank
set the yuan CNY= at a broadly neutral midpoint. The exchange
rate has been a contentious point in China-U.S. ties.
Spot gold XAU= dropped 1.3% to $1,684.25 an ounce.

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