Oil Falls On Lockdown Angst, Stocks Rise To Pare Weekly Loss

“Asia is not really partaking in this second or third wave story because it’s got its COVID largely under control,” said Rob Carnell, chief economist in Asia at ING.

Taiwan, which boasts Asia’s best-performing currency this year, marked its 200th straight day without a local coronavirus transmission on Thursday.

Emerging market stocks rose 0.02%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.19% lower. Japan’s Nikkei futures were up 1.37%.

Concerns hit commodities too, with oil again falling and down nearly 10% for the week.

“As lockdowns begin to bite on demand concerns across Europe, the near-term outlook for crude starts to deteriorate,” said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi.

U.S. crude recently fell 3.02% to $36.26 per barrel and Brent was at $37.68, down 3.68% on the day.

Uncertainty about Tuesday’s U.S. election also kept traders on edge. President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden will rally supporters in the battleground of Florida, visiting the same city hours apart to offer their contrasting approaches to the resurgent coronavirus pandemic.

The ECB held off on new measures on Thursday but it hinted at action in December, which is likely to keep the euro under pressure.

The dollar index rose 0.555%, with the euro down 0.62% to $1.1671.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.37% versus the greenback at 104.67 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2925, down 0.43% on the day.

The Bank of Japan had made no changes to monetary policy settings overnight, as expected, though it trimmed its growth forecasts to reflect sluggish services spending.

Treasury yields rose, tracking U.S. stocks, despite little initial reaction to the strong GDP number.

Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 17/32 in price to yield 0.8381%, from 0.781% late on Wednesday.

Spot gold dropped 0.5% to $1,868.33 an ounce. Silver fell 0.40% to $23.32.

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