GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks jittery as record U.S. virus count weighs on risk appetite

By David Randall
NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - Global equity benchmarks slid
and oil prices flat-lined on Friday as investors weighed a
record number of new coronavirus cases in the United States
against improving economic data in Europe.
More than 60,500 new coronavirus infections were reported
across the United States on Thursday, the largest single-day
tally of cases by any country since the virus emerged late last
year in China. "The sharp increase in confirmed cases has led to growing
concerns that a return to broad lockdowns lies ahead," Goldman
Sachs wrote in a note. "While lockdowns can slow down virus
spread effectively, they come at very high economic cost."
Economic data, however, continued to improve in the United
States and Europe. The number of Americans filing for jobless
benefits dropped to near a four-month low last week, and Italian
industrial output rebounded much more strongly than expected in
May after plunging in the previous two months due to a
coronavirus lockdown
"The dispersion in macro forecasts remains extremely high.
It therefore should not surprise when you see market volatility
turning on mixed pieces of news," said Elliot Hentov, head of
policy and research at State Street.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.28% following broad gains in Europe and slight losses in Asia.
Chinese shares .CSI300 fell 1.8% from a five-year high, as
state media discouraged retail investors from chasing the market
higher.
In morning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI fell 64.74 points, or 0.25%, to 25,641.35, the
S&P 500 .SPX lost 7.44 points, or 0.24%, to 3,144.61 and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 51.57 points, or 0.49%, to
10,496.18.
Cases of the COVID-19 respiratory illness have also been
rising in some Asian and Australian cities that had appeared to
have contained the disease, such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and
Melbourne, prompting investors to move into perceived safe
havens.
U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR slipped to their lowest
levels since late April. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR
last rose 2/32 in price to yield 0.6004%, from 0.605% late on
Thursday. Spot gold XAU= added 0.3% to $1,808.99 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures GCc1 gained 0.35% to $1,805.50 an ounce.
The International Energy Agency bumped up its 2020 oil
demand forecast on Friday but said the spread of COVID-19 posed
a risk to the outlook. U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.05% to $39.60 per barrel and Brent
LCOc1 was at $42.30, down 0.12% on the day.

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