* Tracking the coronavirus: https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
* Treasury yields remain near record lows
* Japan stocks hit by fears of Olympics cancellation
(Updates prices, comments; changes byline, dateline; previous
LONDON)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Gains on Wall Street led stocks
across the globe higher on Wednesday, a rebound from a sharp
selloff linked to coronavirus worries, but other financial
markets felt nagging pressure from concerns over how the disease
will affect the global economy.
The Japanese yen and U.S. and German bond prices gave back
some recent gains while the U.S. dollar and spot gold prices
were little changed. Oil prices continued to fall.
Asia reported hundreds of new cases on Wednesday including
an American soldier stationed in South Korea. The disease spread
in Europe, and Brazil confirmed Latin America's first infection.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for sports and
cultural events to be canceled or curtailed for two weeks, and
concern mounted that the Summer Olympics could be called off.
Uncertainty kept stock market gains in check, even as lower
equities prices brought back some buyers.
"It's unclear if it's something that will be resolved in
weeks or months or a longer time," said Chester Spatt, professor
of finance at Carnegie Mellon University.
"There is potential for shock to both supply and demand
sides of the economy. The magnitude of the shock is uncertain
right now."
Drastic travel restrictions in China, where the virus has
claimed almost 3,000 lives, have slammed the brakes on mainland
manufacturing and consumer spending, and investors worried about
disruptions in other countries.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
77.21 points, or 0.29%, to 27,158.57, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
10.2 points, or 0.33%, to 3,138.41 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 51.43 points, or 0.57%, to 9,017.04.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was flat and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.08%.
Emerging market stocks lost 1.13%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 1.23%
lower, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 lost 0.79%.
U.S. 10- and 30-year Treasury yields edged up from record
lows while another safe-haven, German bonds, also saw 10-year
yields tumble to four-month lows below -0.5% DE10YT=RR .
Jim Barnes, director of fixed income at Bryn Mawr Trust,
said Wednesday morning's trading hardly showed investors ready
to move out of Treasuries, seen as a safer investment compared
to equities and other asset classes.
Even though Treasury yields were up from their lows, Barnes
said, "I wouldn't say these yields are attractive, it's more a
place to park cash."
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 1/32 in price
to yield 1.3287%, from 1.33% late on Tuesday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last fell 5/32 in price to
yield 1.8095%, from 1.803% on Tuesday.
Oil prices edged up after U.S. data but fell on demand
uncertainty linked to the virus, including new cases in
oil-producing countries in the Middle East.
"Energy markets have responded positively to the
smaller-than-anticipated build," said Ryan Kaup, a commodities
broker at CHS Hedging. "However, coronavirus has kicked market
sentiment to the floor."
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.96% to $49.42 per barrel and Brent
LCOc1 was last at $54.08, down 1.58% on the day.
The dollar edged up from a two-week low hit the previous
session in step with U.S. equity markets, though moves were
muted as investors remained cautious.
"We're still fixated on equity market moves," said Shaun
Osborne, chief foreign exchange strategist at Scotia Capital.
However, he said, "ranges are pretty contained. I don't
think anybody is reading too much into this rebound in equities
at this point."
The dollar index =USD rose 0.056%, with the euro EUR= up
0.09% to $1.0889.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.11% versus the greenback at
110.33 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.2919, down 0.65% on the day.
Coronavirus spreads outside of China https://tmsnrt.rs/38V85hO
Global stocks' performance vs. reported coronavirus cases https://tmsnrt.rs/3c3WvTr
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