GLOBAL MARKETS-Apple hits stocks, euro near three-year low

* Apple will miss quarterly revenue target due to

coronavirus

* European stocks seen falling 0.5-0.6%

* S&P500 futures down 0.35%

* Australian dollar falls; gold, U.S. bonds gain

* Euro near three-year low before German ZEW data

By Marc Jones

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - World stocks markets were knocked

off record highs on Tuesday as two of the world's mega companies

reported damage from the coronavirus outbreak.

Apple's stock fell almost 6% in Frankfurt and all Europe's

main markets fell .EU after the iPhone maker warned it was

unlikely to meet the March quarter sales guidance it had set

just three weeks ago. HSBC announced a massive restructuring that involved

shedding $100 billion of assets and slashing 35,000 jobs over

three years. It also warned about the impact of the coronavirus

on its Asia business. The stock fell more than 2% in Hong Kong

trade.

"We have been pointing out that the market reaction in past

weeks was excessively constructive and this could be a wake-up

call to all investors that ignored so far potential negative

impact," analysts at UniCredit said.

The warning from Apple sobered investors who had hoped

stimulus from China and other countries would protect the global

economy from the effects of the epidemic.

Europe's 0.4% to 0.5% .STOXX declines came after Tokyo's

Nikkei .N225 dropped 1.4% as tech stocks globally reacted to

Apple's warning. China's CSI300 .CSI300 gave up 0.5% after

gaining on Monday, encouraged by a central bank rate cut and

government stimulus hopes. .T .SS

S&P 500 e-mini futures ESc1 slipped 0.4% and Nasdaq

futures NQcv1 fell 0.6%.

Bonds were in demand, with the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield

falling 4 basis point to just above 1.5% US10YT=RR . Safe-haven

gold XAU= rose to its highest in two weeks and oil prices fell

nearly 2% after five days of gains. O/R

The yen rose 0.15% to 109.69 yen per dollar JPY= while the

risk- and China-sensitive Australian dollar lost 0.4% to $0.6686

AUD=D4 . The yuan was steadier, trading at 6.9950 per dollar

CNY=CFXS .

The euro was near a three-year low versus the dollar at

$1.0830 EUR= , before Germany's ZEW survey, which is expected

to fuel growing pessimism about Europe's largest economy. /FRX

Also hurting market sentiment were a reports that U.S.

President Donald Trump's administration was considering changing

regulations to allow it to block shipments of chips to China's

Huawei HWT.UL from companies such as Taiwan's Taiwan

Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract

chipmaker. TO SELL

TSMC 2330.TW lost 2.9%. Samsung Electronics 005930.KS

dropped 2.9% and Sony Corp 6758.T shed 2.5% after the Apple

coronavirus warning. The number of new coronavirus cases in mainland China fell

below 2,000 for the first time since January, but the virus

remains far from contained. The death toll in China has climbed

to 1,868, the National Health Commission said, and the World

Health Organization said "every scenario is still on the table"

in terms of the epidemic's evolution. As China's authorities try to prevent the spread of the

disease, the economy is paying a heavy price. Some cities remain

locked down, streets are deserted, and travel bans and

quarantine orders are preventing migrant workers from getting

back to their jobs.

Many factories have yet to re-open, disrupting supply chains

in China and beyond, as highlighted by Apple.

"Apple is saying its recovery could be delayed, which could

mean the impact of the virus may go beyond the current quarter,"

said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi

UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

"If Apple shares were traded cheaply, that might not matter

much. But when they are trading at a record high, investors will

be surely tempted to sell."

Euro trashed! https://tmsnrt.rs/31XAVLU

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