(Updates prices, changes comment)
* Safe havens yen, gold shine in flight to safety
* Worries over health of world economy hit oil
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Oil prices and stocks across
major markets fell on Tuesday as tensions rose between China and
the United States ahead of high-level trade talks, while the
British pound sank on reports that Brexit negotiations were
close to breaking down.
Gold and the yen rose, indicating an increased appetite for
safe-haven assets.
Washington widened its trade blacklist to include some of
China's top artificial intelligence start-ups, punishing Beijing
for its treatment of Muslim minorities and ratcheting up
tensions ahead of trade talks in Washington this week.
"The headlines are painting a picture of a less optimistic
tone to the trade talks this week," said John Zaller, chief
investment officer of MAI Capital Management in Cleveland.
"Anything less than a tariff delay would be a pretty big
disappointment for the markets."
An increase in U.S. tariffs to 30% from 25% on $250 billion
worth of Chinese goods is scheduled for Oct. 15.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 187.59 points,
or 0.71 percent, to 26,290.43, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 28.91
points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,909.88 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 80.14 points, or 1.01 percent, to 7,876.16.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 1.10 percent
and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.81 percent.
Buoyed by gains in Asia, emerging market stocks were little
changed. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed just 0.24 percent higher. Japan's
Nikkei .N225 rose 0.99 percent.
Investors of Chinese mainland stocks .SSEC returned from a
week-long holiday to boost the index by 0.3%, but a private
survey showed growth in China's services sector at its slowest
in seven months in September.
With the focus turning to trade talks, U.S. President Donald
Trump said he hoped Beijing would find a humane and peaceful
resolution to political protests in Hong Kong, and said that
situation had the potential to hurt the trade discussions.
GLOBAL GROWTH CONCERNS
The flight to safety also pushed some bond prices higher,
with German bund DE10YT=RR yields edging down. U.S. Treasury
yields also fell as expectations grew for a Federal Reserve
interest rate cut in October following a big drop in the U.S.
producer price index and an intensification of trade tensions
with China.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR last rose 4/32
in price to yield 1.5391 percent, from 1.553 percent late on
Monday.
Market participants keenly await comments from Fed Chairman
Jerome Powell, who is due to speak at a meeting in Denver,
Colorado later in the day, after weak data raised concerns the
U.S. economy may be heading toward a protracted slowdown.
Despite expectations for lower rates, the U.S. dollar rose
against a basket of six peers.
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.18 percent, with the euro
EUR= down 0.15 percent to $1.0953.
Sterling tumbled after reports that Brexit talks between
Britain and Brussels were close to breaking down.
The EU accused Britain of playing a "stupid blame game"
after a Downing Street source said a deal was essentially
impossible because German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made
unacceptable demands. Sterling GBP= last traded at $1.2216, down 0.60 percent on
the day. GBP/
The safe-haven yen strengthened 0.13 percent versus the
greenback at 107.17 per dollar.
In emerging market currencies, the focus remained on the
Turkish lira, which treaded water after hitting a five-week low
in early trade over concerns about a planned Turkish military
incursion in northern Syria. Trump threatened to "totally destroy and obliterate the
Economy of Turkey" if he considered Ankara's moves "off limits,"
even as the U.S. leader opened that door by ordering the
withdrawal of U.S. troops from the area. The Turkish lira gained 0.06 percent versus the U.S. dollar
at 5.83 after falling more than 2% on Monday.
New IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said trade
tensions could mean a loss of around $700 billion to the world
economy by 2020, or about 0.8 percent of global GDP.
Worries over the health of the world economy sent oil prices
lower even as anti-government protests resumed overnight in
Iraq, OPEC's second-largest producer. U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.87 percent to $52.29 per barrel and
Brent LCOc1 was last at $57.93, down 0.72 percent on the day.
"The market's focus remains on trade tensions and oil demand
concerns, ignoring the elevated geopolitical tensions in the
Middle East and lower OPEC production in September," said UBS
oil analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
"Growing recession risks have capped the upside of oil
prices."
The U.S. Energy Information Administration cut its 2020
world oil demand growth forecast by 100,000 barrels per day to
1.30 million bpd, or about 7%.
Spot gold XAU= added 0.4 percent to $1,499.81 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures GCc1 gained 0.05 percent to $1,498.40 an
ounce.
Copper CMCU3 lost 0.61 percent to $5,687.00 a tonne.
Global assets in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
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