* Stocks tumble, oil slumps nearly 5% after Trump gets virus
* Payrolls disappoint, Wall Street set for heavy losses
* Russia's rouble hit hardest among currencies
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Reuters Live Markets blog: LIVE/
(Updates prices, adds context and chart)
By Elizabeth Howcroft
LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for a heavy
tumble on Friday as news that U.S. President Donald Trump and
his wife had tested positive for coronavirus just four weeks
before U.S. elections sent investors into safer gold, Treasuries
and the yen. Europe's main bourses were down 0.5%, having clawed back
some of their starker morning falls .STOXX , but oil was down
nearly 5% and futures markets were pointing to 1.57 to 2.3%
losses for Wall Street's S&P 500 EScv1 , Dow 1YMc1 and Nasdaq
NQc1 . .N
Trump said on Twitter he and his wife had been tested
positive for coronavirus: "We will begin our quarantine and
recovery process immediately," he said in a late night tweet,
adding one of his chief aides had contracted the virus too.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49
countries, was down 0.2% but still on course for a 2% rise for
the week which will be its best in over a month .MIWD00000PUS .
Markets had other gloomy news to digest with weaker than
expected monthly U.S. jobs data but Trump's
exposure could cause a new wave of market volatility if it looks
like disrupting in any way the presidential election, which is
just 33 days away.
How long the risk-averse moves will last depends on the
extent of the infection within the White House, said Francois
Savary, chief investment officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime
Partners.
"We may have to wait until the end of the weekend for more
clarity on the situation," he said.
"It will weigh on the market today and early next week but
will not induce a long-lasting correction if the infection is
contained to Trump," he added.
The United States has never delayed a presidential election,
not even during the Civil War or Great Depression, and only
moved it for administrative reasons twice - both within the
first 60 years of the country's founding.
When it comes to stock market shocks, the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, saw the S&P 500
plunge nearly 3% and Wall Street shut down the New York Stock
Exchange at 2:07 p.m. EST. But the losses were confined to a
single day and the market recovered within two days.
The news from the White House also triggered a rise in the
dollar as well the safe-haven Japanese yen which saw its biggest
jump in more than a month, reaching 104.95 at 0553 GMT
JPY=EBS .
Against a basked of currencies, the dollar index was up 0.1%
on the day at 93.807 at 1051 GMT. The Australian dollar, which serves as a liquid proxy for
risk assets, was down 0.5% AUD=D3 , though regional tensions
meant it was Russia's rouble that took the biggest hit, dropping
1.5%. Germany's benchmark 10-year bond was down around 2 basis
points at -0.543% DE10YT=RR .
Oil fell, with Brent crude LCOc1 down 4.8% to $39.02 a
barrel having extended losses as the European session wore on.
O/R
Gold rose, up 0.2% at $1,908.63 per ounce, having hit a
10-day high earlier in the session XAU= . ARE OFF
"Depending on how this situation evolves over the weekend,
notably if more members of the U.S. government's senior
leadership are diagnosed positive, gold could be set for an
extended rally," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at
OANDA.
With the situation ahead of the election now thrown into
confusion, online gambling site Betfair suspended betting on the
outcome of the Nov. 3 vote. Even before news of Trump's infection, markets had been more
bearish after Washington failed to reach an agreement on a
fiscal stimulus package to help the U.S. economy recover from
the impact of coronavirus. The latest round of monthly U.S. unemployment data, the last
before the Nov. 3 election date showed slower jobs growth than
expected in September as the ongoing COVID-19 slump leaves many
at the risk of being permanently unemployed.
Non-farm payrolls increased by 661,000 jobs after advancing
1.489 million in August. Economists polled by Reuters had
forecast a 850,000 jump in jobs.
"The recovery continues but at slower rate in part because
the government stimulus has diminished significantly," said Sung
Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles.
"We are seeing more layoffs and bankruptcies, and until the
next government comes in with more support, I would not be
surprised to see a renewed decline in employment toward the end
of the year."
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
Futures drop https://tmsnrt.rs/3l9VRay
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>