GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia on ropes as S&P500 slides, dollar in demand

* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* S&P 500 futures fall 5% to be limit down
* Asian shares set for more losses, oil falls anew
* US dollar firm on safe-haven, high liquidity status
* More countries shut businesses, tell people to stay home

By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, March 23 (Reuters) - Asian markets were set for
another turbulent week on Monday as more countries all but shut
down in the fight against the coronavirus, threatening to
overwhelm policymakers' frantic efforts to cushion what is clear
to be a deep global recession.
In a taste of what was to come, E-Mini futures for the S&P
500 ESc1 dived 5% right at the start of Asian trading to be
limit down. Nikkei futures JNIc1 sank 5.8%.
Oil was not far behind as mass bans on travel worldwide
crushed demand for fuel. Brent crude LCOc1 futures slid a
further $1.90 to $25.01 a barrel in chaotic trade, while U.S.
crude CLc1 shed $1.58 to $21.05. O/R
Analysts fear the collapse in oil and other commodity prices
will set off a deflationary wave making it harder for monetary
policy easing to gain traction as economies shut down.
Nearly one in three Americans were ordered to stay home on
Sunday to slow the spread of the disease, while Italy banned
internal travel as deaths there reached 5,476. U.S. President Donald Trump went on TV to approve disaster
deceleration requests from New York and Washington, while St.
Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard warned
unemployment could reach 30% unless more was done fiscally.

U.S. stocks have already fallen more than 30% from their
mid-February and even the safest areas of the bond market
experiencing liquidity stress as distressed funds are forced to
sell good assets to cover positions gone bad.
"It would be a brave, or foolish, man to call the bottom in
equities without a dramatic medical breakthrough," said Alan
Ruskin, head of G10 FX strategy at Deutsche Bank.
Also needed would be evidence that China can re-emerge from
the virus, without reigniting infections and, that other major
economies have hit the inflection points for infection rates, he
added.
"Even were social distancing to subside at the earliest
plausible dates in Europe and the U.S., it will have done
extraordinary damage to confidence in a host of key sectors."
The mounting economic toll led to a major rally in sovereign
bonds late last week, with efforts by central banks to restore
liquidity in the market allowing for more two-way trade.
Yields on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note US10YT=RR dived
all the way to 0.84% on Friday, having been as high as 1.28%, an
enormous swing that has become all too common.
Treasury futures TYc1 extended the bounce on Monday by
climbing more than a full point.
In New Zealand, the central bank announced its first
outright purchase of government paper aiming to inject
much-needed liquidity into the local market. In currency markets, the first instinct on Monday was to
dump those leveraged to global growth and commodity prices,
sending the Australian dollar down 1.4% to $0.5717 AUD=D3 .
The U.S. dollar was again buoyed by safe-haven flows and
edged up 0.2% on the yen to 111.03 JPY= , while the euro eased
0.3% to $1.0662 EUR= .
Against a basket of currencies the dollar gained 0.4% to
102.810. =USD
The steady rise in the dollar undermined gold, which slipped
0.5% to $1,490.07 per ounce XAU= . GOL/

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(Editing by Sam Holmes)