GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian equities slip as vaccine trials, stimulus talks stall

By Suzanne Barlyn and Swati Pandey
NEW YORK/SYDNEY, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Asian equities slipped
on Wednesday as halted COVID-19 vaccine trials and an impasse in
U.S. fiscal aid package talks soured risk appetite, while the
greenback held on to gains as demand firmed for safe-harbour
assets.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N on Tuesday said it was pausing a
COVID-19 vaccine trial due to a study participant's unexplained
illness. Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N later said it too had paused the
clinical trial of its COVID-19 antibody treatment due to a
safety concern, leading the U.S. equity market to deepen losses.
J&J shares lost 2.3%, while Eli Lilly closed down nearly 3%.
"That just spoke to the fact that a vaccine could take
longer to be delivered than what the market's expectations are
calibrated towards," said CommSec market analyst Tom Piotrowski
in Sydney.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of
Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.2%. Japan's Nikkei .N225 dipped
0.2% while Australia's benchmark index .AXJO was off a touch
and South Korea .KS11 stumbled 0.7%.
Chinese shares opened red too with the blue-chip CSI300
.CSI300 down 0.3%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI fell 0.5%, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.63% and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC eased 0.1%.
Also weighing on sentiment, hopes for the passage of a new
coronavirus relief package faded as U.S. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi rejected a $1.8 trillion relief proposal from the White
House. "U.S. stimulus talks are still going nowhere dimming the
prospect of a new round of support this side of the election,"
said Sydney-based NAB strategist Rodrigo Catril.
"So, for now it is hard to see a deal being agreed before
Nov. 3, the market is still travelling with the notion that a
new round of stimulus is coming, but at this stage this looks
more likely after the election."
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 were up slightly in
early Asian trading.
In currencies, the U.S. dollar boasted its best daily
performance in three weeks on Tuesday with its index =USD
against a basket of six major currencies rising 0.5%. The index
was last flat at 93.533.
The euro EUR= was barely changed at $1.1742.
The Australian dollar has been slugged by news that China
has stopped taking shipments of Australian coal, dragging the
Aussie to one-week lows. It was last treading water at $0.7163.
The Japanese yen gained versus the greenback to 105.32 per
dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2932.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on Tuesday said he
did not think the economy was undergoing a V-shaped recovery,
because of headwind from a second wave of COVID-19 and
underlying public caution about spending and socialising after
the pandemic. Investors are also watching tension between the European
Union and Britain after the EU demanded "substantive" movement
on Tuesday on fisheries, dispute settlement and guarantees of
fair competition in their talks on a post-Brexit trade deal.
EU leaders will hold a summit in Brussels on Thursday and
Friday to assess progress.
In commodities, the spot gold price XAU= was off 0.2%
$1,887.33 an ounce.
Oil slipped too, with Brent LCOc1 and U.S. crude CLc1
off 8 cents each at $42.37 and $40.1 a barrel respectively.

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