* Euro falls as ECB flags easing in December
* Oil falls again, dollar grinds higher
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
(Updates prices, comment, dateline; previous LONDON)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Crude oil tumbled again on
Thursday as lockdowns in Europe clouded the demand outlook while
stocks were in and out of losses globally, hinging on support
from Wall Street.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel have ordered their countries back into coronavirus
lockdowns, while cases are rising in 47 U.S. states with
patients overwhelming hospitals in parts of the country.
The European Central Bank said it would increase its support
for the bloc's economy amid the pandemic even as it left policy
unchanged, weighing on the euro, while U.S. gross domestic
product soared to a widely-predicted record bounce that helped
trigger stock buying on Wall Street, enough to halt the rout on
equities globally so far this week. The S&P 500 rose but was still down nearly 5% for the week
so far as traders have shied away from risk on concern a new
wave of COVID-19 infections will hinder the economic recovery.
"GDP hit it out of the park, as expected," said Chris
Larkin, managing director of trading and investment product at
E*TRADE Financial.
"But it remains to be seen if that can provide any catalyst
given that it's not really capturing the slowdown we've seen in
the past few weeks and we're coming off of a dismal Q2 read."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 17.44 points,
or 0.07%, to 26,537.39, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 21.17 points,
or 0.65%, to 3,292.2 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
128.28 points, or 1.17%, to 11,133.15.
Global stock markets lost nearly $2 trillion on Wednesday,
with trading volume on U.S. exchanges up 35% to the highest
level in over five weeks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 0.03% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
0.14%.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 fell 0.4% overnight and futures were
pointing higher, while Chinese blue chips .CSI300 rose 0.7%.
"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 lost 0.31%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.45%
lower.
Concerns hit commodities too, with oil again falling and
down nearly 10% for the week. O/R
"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 CLc1 recently fell 4.15% to $35.84 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $37.44, down 4.29% 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 =USD rose 0.653%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.72% to $1.1659.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.31% versus the greenback at
104.64 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.2903, down 0.60% 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. US/
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 9/32 in price
to yield 0.8112%, from 0.781% late on Wednesday.
Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.3% to $1,870.88 an ounce. Silver
XAG= fell 0.29% to $23.34.
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
COVID-19 daily cases https://tmsnrt.rs/37Vr7a3
World stocks suffering COVID relapse https://tmsnrt.rs/3myZlUO
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