GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks down on virus' economic toll; dollar falls further

* USD on track for largest weekly loss since 2009
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

(Updates prices, adds stimulus bill passage)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Stocks across the globe fell
on Friday after a historic three-day run-up, with indexes poised
to close the month and quarter with starkly negative
performances, while the dollar was on track for its biggest
weekly decline in over a decade.
Shares on Wall Street pared losses and the dollar fell
further after the U.S. House of Representatives, as expected,
approved a $2.2 trillion stimulus package, the largest in U.S.
history. The bill, already passed by the Senate, will now go to
the president, who is expected to promptly sign it into law.
The weakening in the dollar was seen partly as a sign that
central bankers have been successful in easing stress in the
money markets.
The market volatility is expected to continue as the
coronavirus pandemic that triggered closures in economies
worldwide remains very much a threat.
The United States surpassed two grim milestones on Thursday
as virus-related deaths soared past 1,000 and it become the
world leader in confirmed cases. Worldwide, confirmed cases rose
above 551,000 with nearly 25,000 deaths. The stimulus "is not necessarily enough to make people say,
'I've got to run out and buy stocks,'" said Rick Meckler, a
partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Jersey. "That's going
to take more time."
The uncertainty over the overall human and economic toll was
reflected in financial markets. MSCI's gauge of global stocks
was on track to post both its largest weekly percentage gain
since 2008 and its largest monthly and quarterly drops since
2008.
The infection rate for the coronavirus is driving much of
the market at a time of great uncertainty, said Yousef Abbasi,
global market strategist at INTL FCStone Financial Inc in New
York.
"My big hang-up here is when the curve does start to
flatten, that doesn't mean we can return to normal human and
economic behavior," he said. "If we do return to normal human
and economic behavior, we risk the chance the curve goes
parabolic again. Just from the perspective of how long this
potentially can last, there's still a great deal of
uncertainty."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 602.06 points,
or 2.67%, to 21,950.11, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 56.88 points, or
2.16%, to 2,573.19 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
169.11 points, or 2.17%, to 7,628.43.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 3.26%, and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
1.56%. Emerging market stocks lost 0.90%.
Stock markets have rallied over the past week on trillions
of dollars of enacted and pledged economic stimulus by
policymakers worldwide, from central banks to governments.
Policymakers may need to offer more stimulus as the virus slams
the brakes on economic activity and increases healthcare
spending.
"Next week, markets will likely continue to focus on the
spread of COVID-19 - whether European cases are reaching a peak,
how much of the U.S. will be put in lockdown, and whether China
can avoid a second wave," said Gaétan Peroux, strategist at UBS
Global Wealth Management.
The $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed by the U.S.
Congress will flood the world's largest economy with money to
stem the economic damage from the pandemic. Amid the avalanche of stimulus, the U.S. dollar extended its
daily decline and remained on track for its biggest weekly
decline since early 2009. The dollar index =USD fell 0.753% on
Friday.
The euro EUR= was up 0.63% to $1.1098, the Japanese yen
strengthened 1.59% versus the greenback at 107.90 per dollar,
while sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2432, up 1.89% on
the day.
The U.S. currency's fall after two weeks of steep gains
suggests the Federal Reserve's efforts to relieve a crunch in
the dollar funding market are working, some analysts said.
"What we are seeing is abating stress in the money markets.
Action by central banks has been successful so far and a
shortage of dollars has been taken off the table," said Ulrich
Leuchtmann, head of FX and EM research at Commerzbank.
U.S. Treasury yields were headed for a weekly decline,
though the range of trading was far less volatile than in the
previous two sessions.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 21/32 in price
to yield 0.7424%, from 0.808% late on Thursday. The 30-year bond
US30YT=RR last rose 1-26/32 in price to yield 1.3291% from
1.395%.
Oil prices continued their fall on demand concerns as the
virus slowed economies to a crawl, which outweighed the stimulus
efforts. U.S. crude CLc1 recently fell 4.07% to $21.68 per
barrel and Brent LCOc1 was recently at $24.98, down 5.16% on
the day.
Gold market participants remained concerned about a supply
squeeze after a sharp divergence between prices in London and
New York. The virus has grounded planes used to transport gold
and closed precious metal refineries. Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.8% to $1,615.92 an ounce. The
metal was on track to post its largest weekly advance since
2008.

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World stocks vs. COVID-19 confirmed cases https://reut.rs/2UEjBrT
Global assets in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
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