Virus, Stimulus Angst Hit World Stocks; Dollar Shines

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares lost 1.3% with Hong Kong and India both down over 2%, and Japan’s Nikkei closing down 0.5%.

Underlining concerns about the health of the world economy, data showed on Thursday China’s factory gate prices fell at a faster-than-expected rate in September while consumer inflation slowed to its weakest pace in 19 months.

The move toward safety helped the U.S. dollar, a traditional safe-haven asset. The greenback jumped 0.4% against a basket of six major currencies to 93.818.

A firmer dollar dragged on sterling , already hammered by concerns about the obstacles that may keep the European Union and Britain from reaching a trade deal by Dec. 31. The pound slumped 0.9% to $1.2897.

The euro drooped 0.4% against the dollar to $1.1702, barely budging on comments by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde that the ECB was ready to ease policy further if needed.

Traders’ preference for safety helped government bonds. Germany’s government bonds rallied to leave their yields at their lowest level since the March spread of COVID-19 caused a global meltdown in stock markets and other riskier assets.

Gold reversed earlier losses to trade in the black, helped in part by Trump’s comments that he was keen on more U.S. fiscal stimulus before the November election.

U.S. gold futures settled up 0.1% at $1,908.90 an ounce.

Oil prices, however, were weighed by concerns about the coronavirus and its impact on the world economy, though losses narrowed compared with earlier in the day.

Brent crude futures dropped 16 cents to settle at $43.16 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 8 cents to settle at $40.96 a barrel.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor