GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia set to track Wall Street retreat as second wave derails recovery hopes

By Jessica DiNapoli
NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Asian markets were set to
follow a tumble in Wall Street stocks and oil prices on Thursday
after surging U.S. coronavirus cases and the International
Monetary Fund's downgrade to global economic projections shook
confidence in a recovery.
"At the moment futures are looking at some pretty steep
losses," said James Tao, a market analyst at Australian broker
CommSec. "It's no real surprise considering the heavy declines
on Wall Street."
Tao said spiking coronavirus cases and new restrictions
aimed at tamping down the spread of the pandemic were the straw
that broke the camel's back, after markets gained earlier in the
week.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 lost 1.55% in early
trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 futures JNIc1 fell 1.1%.
Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China are closed for
public holidays on Thursday.
On Wednesday, three U.S. states reported record increases in
new cases -- Florida, Oklahoma and South Carolina -- driving the
negative sentiment. Seven others had record highs earlier in the
week.
The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut,
initially hard hit by the pandemic, ordered travelers from nine
other states to quarantine for 14 days on arrival as COVID-19
showed signs of rising in other areas. The International Monetary Fund said it now expects a deeper
recession, with global output to shrink 4.9% this year, much
sharper than the 3.0% contraction predicted in April.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
2.24%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
2.72%, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.59% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 2.19%.
"The pace of the acceleration (of new cases) is causing
businesses and consumers to act, with Open Table showing
restaurant bookings have dived in the southern U.S.," the
National Australia Bank said in a research note.
"Governors in the southern states who have been reluctant to
reimpose restrictions have also sharply changed their rhetoric.
These trends threaten the pace of the tentative recovery seen in
the data to date."
Oil prices tumbled as much as 5%, or more than $2 a barrel
on Wednesday, due to the growing COVID-19 cases and rising oil
inventories. The dollar strengthened on the concerns of a slower economic
recovery. The dollar index =USD rose 0.624%. FRX/

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>