GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian markets set for shaky start amid mixed cues

By Imani Moise
NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set for a
bumpy start to the second half of the year on Wednesday as
optimism about a global economic recovery from the pandemic
jousted with signs in the United States the health crisis may
not yet be past its peak.
Stocks futures were mixed in early Asian trade with e-mini
for the S&P 500 EScv1 down 0.19% while with Japan's Nikkei 225
futures NKc1 rose 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures
.HIS HSIc1 lost 0.42% and Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures
YAPcm1 were down 0.1%.
The highest ranking U.S. medical official, Anthony Fauci,
forecast dire consequences for the world's largest economy if
cities did not re-embrace masks and social distancing measures
as COVID-19 cases surged around the country. Despite these concerns, growing cases in the U.S. are
unlikely to rock markets the same way the initial outbreak did
in March, Capital Economics analyst Franziska Palmas said in a
note.
"Central bank backstops put in place in March have been
essential in preserving calm in money markets," the note read.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday pledged to do more for the
U.S. economy as it battles the enormous fallout from the virus
outbreak.
That assurance helped push Wall Street higher to close out
the best quarterly rebound in nearly two decades, and pushed the
safe-haven dollar slightly lower. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 1.04% as the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.54%.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.04%, with the euro EUR= up
0.02% to $1.1233.
The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, released a new schedule for
bond purchases on Tuesday, which signaled the monetary authority
would not be more aggressive on longer maturity bonds.
Still, gold prices rallied as some investors fled to safety
after Fauci's warning that the U.S. daily case-load could reach
100,000 from the current 40,000.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled up 1.1% at $1,800.5.
Oil prices slumped after Libya's state oil company said it
made progress in talks to resume exports, potentially boosting
supply.
U.S. crude CLc1 was down 43 cents, or 1%, at $39.27 a
barrel.
Longer U.S. Treasuries rose during Tuesday trading as
investors rebalanced their portfolio to round out the first half
of the year.
The benchmark 10-year US10YT=RR yield was last up 1.7
basis points at 0.6528%.

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