GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares slide as Trump raises spectre of longer trade war

* Trump flags delaying trade talks until after 2020 election
* Asian stocks follow Wall St lower, safe-havens rise
* ASX, Nikkei fall 1%
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Asian shares extended their
losses on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said a
trade deal with China might have to wait until after the 2020
presidential election, dashing market hopes for a quick
preliminary agreement.
Investors turned to safe-haven assets, boosting bond prices
and sending gold to a one-month high, while MSCI's broadest
index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell
0.4%.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 dropped 1% in early trade.
Australia's S&P/ASX200 .AXJO was down 1.6%, having shed almost
4% since closing on Monday.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year US10YT=RR treasuries
fell as low as 1.6930% overnight, the sharpest fall since May.
It stood at 1.7242% on Wednesday.
"Suddenly you can feel the market," said Sean Taylor, chief
investment officer for Asia-Pacific at German asset management
firm DWS, calling trade the top threat to the global outlook.
"It just takes one or two comments and then a bad feeling
again," he said. "It's still quite uncertain."
Trump had told reporters in London that there is "no
deadline" for an agreement with China to end the tit-for-tat
tariff war that has hurt global growth. "In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the
election for the China deal," Trump told reporters in London.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Tuesday said no
high-level meetings are scheduled and the parties still needed
to sort out details about Chinese purchases of U.S. farm
products and an enforcement mechanism.
If there is no deal or substantial progress before Dec. 15,
tariffs on remaining Chinese imports, including cell phones,
laptop computers and toys, will take effect, Ross said.
SELLDOWN
A wave of selling on Wall Street followed, with the Dow
Jones Industrial Average .DJI shedding a percentage point, the
Nasdaq .IXIC half a percentage point and the S&P 500 .SPX
0.66%.
"As if we needed a reminder, the market remains incredibly
sensitive to trade developments," said RBC Capital Markets'
Chief US Economist, Tom Porcelli. "The lack of urgency to cut a
deal was presented today as very real."
In currency markets China's yuan took a beating and there
was a flight to the safe-haven Japanese yen and to the Swiss
franc, which held just under a one-month high on Wednesday.
However the trade-exposed Australian and New Zealand dollars
mostly held on to gains won against the greenback after
disappointing manufacturing data weakened the U.S. currency on
Monday.
"It might be that apart from the global risky stuff, the
market is thinking about the U.S. economy maybe slowing," said
Westpac FX analyst Imre Speizer.
"They're pricing a little bit more in for Fed cuts."
The dollar last traded for 108.65 yen JPY= , while a euro
bought $1.1081 EUR= and the Aussie $0.6850 AUD= .
Gold XAU= was steady at $1,477.20 per ounce.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 steadied to
gain 0.61% to $56.44 per barrel, after sliding following Trump's
comments.