GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares set to slip as coronavirus concerns weigh

By John McCrank
NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - Asian shares were set to open
mostly lower on Friday as record-breaking new coronavirus cases
and deaths in several U.S. states stoked concerns that new
lockdowns could derail the economic recovery, and investors
looked forward to earnings season.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 were down 0.41%,
Japan's Nikkei 225 futures NKc1 edged up 0.02%, and Hong
Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI HSIc1 lost 0.87%.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 added 0.12%.
More than 60,000 new COVID-19 infections were reported
across the United States on Wednesday, the greatest single-day
tally of cases by any country since the virus emerged late last
year in China. U.S. deaths rose by more than 900 for the second
straight day. That heightened concerns that renewed lockdowns could hurt
the economic recovery.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits dropped
to a near four-month low last week, data showed. But investors remained cautious as the report also said a
record 32.9 million people were collecting unemployment checks
in the third week of June, supporting expectations the labor
market would take years to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. dollar =USD attracted safehaven inflows, rising
0.34% against a basket of currencies.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
1.39%, to 25,706.09 and the S&P 500 .SPX dropped 0.56%, to
3,152.05.
"Weakness in financial stocks, with the bank sub-index down
2.5%, comes ahead of next week's Q2 reporting season that sees
JP Morgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all report next Tuesday and
following news that Wells Fargo is planning to cut 'thousands'
of jobs starting later this year," said Ray Attrill, head of FX
strategy at National Australia Bank.
Technology stocks rose, lifting the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
up 0.53%, to 10,547.75, for its fifth record closing high in six
days.
Mainland China shares rallied for an eighth day on Thursday,
fueled by retail investor enthusiasm and policy support, even as
regulators cracked down on margin financing and as state media
warned of market risks. The rise in China's mainland equities has some similarities
to the bubble there five years ago, but it is not yet close in
scale, and prices could continue to inflate for some time, said
Capital Economics economist Oliver Jones.
"That said, another boom-bust cycle in China's equities
could have even greater knock-on effects for markets elsewhere
than before, with foreign holdings far higher now than five
years ago," he said.
Fueled by illegal margin lending, the 2015-16 market bubble
saw the benchmark Shanghai index .SSEC fall more than 40% from
its peak in just a few weeks.