GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian equities toppled by stalled vaccine trials, stimulus talks

By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY, Oct 14 (Reuters) - A gauge of Asian shares was
knocked off a 2-1/2-year peak on Wednesday, as halted COVID-19
vaccine trials and an impasse in U.S. stimulus talks soured risk
appetite, while oil was hit by demand concerns amid growing
coronavirus cases.
In a sign of a turnaround in sentiment though, the
pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures STXEc1 edged up 0.1% in early
European trade, German DAX futures FDXc1 were slightly higher
too while London's FTSE futures FFIc1 added 0.4%.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 rose 0.3% after Wall
Street ended in the red on Tuesday. .N
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of
Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS tracked Wall Street's losses to end a
seven-day rally.
The index was last down 0.25%, having toppled from a 2-1/2-
year high of 588.76 touched on Tuesday.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 was a shade higher while Australia's
benchmark index .AXJO was off a touch and South Korea .KS11
stumbled 0.9%.
Chinese shares, which opened in the red, were weaker in the
afternoon session with the blue-chip CSI300 .CSI300 down 0.7%.
The losses began on Wall Street Tuesday when Johnson &
Johnson JNJ.N said it was pausing a COVID-19 vaccine trial due
to a study participant's unexplained illness. Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N later said it too had paused the
clinical trial of its COVID-19 antibody treatment due to a
safety concern, leading the U.S. equity market to deepen losses.
J&J shares lost 2.3% on Tuesday, while Eli Lilly closed down
nearly 3%.
"That just spoke to the fact that a vaccine could take
longer to be delivered than what the market's expectations are
calibrated towards," said CommSec market analyst Tom Piotrowski
in Sydney.
Also weighing on sentiment, hopes for the passage of a new
coronavirus relief package faded as U.S. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi rejected a $1.8 trillion relief proposal from the White
House. "U.S. stimulus talks are still going nowhere dimming the
prospect of a new round of support this side of the election,"
said Sydney-based NAB strategist Rodrigo Catril.
"So, for now it is hard to see a deal being agreed before
Nov. 3, the market is still travelling with the notion that a
new round of stimulus is coming, but at this stage this looks
more likely after the election."
In currencies, the U.S. dollar boasted its best daily
performance in three weeks on Tuesday with its index =USD
against a basket of six major currencies rising 0.5%. The index
was last flat at 93.55.
The euro EUR= was barely changed at $1.1742.
The Australian dollar has been slugged by news that China
has stopped taking shipments of Australian coal, dragging the
Aussie to one-week lows. It was last treading water at $0.7167.
The Japanese yen gained versus the greenback to 105.41 per
dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2921.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on Tuesday said he
did not think the economy was undergoing a V-shaped recovery,
because of headwind from a second wave of COVID-19 and
underlying public caution about spending and socialising after
the pandemic. Investors are also watching tensions between the European
Union and Britain after the EU demanded "substantive" movement
on Tuesday on fisheries, dispute settlement and guarantees of
fair competition in their talks on a post-Brexit trade deal.
EU leaders will hold a summit in Brussels on Thursday and
Friday to assess progress.
In commodities, the spot gold price XAU= was up 0.2%
$1,894.36 an ounce.
Oil slipped too on concerns that fuel demand will continue
to falter as rising coronavirus cases across Europe and in the
United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, could impede
economic growth. O/R
Brent LCOc1 and U.S. crude CLc1 were off about 12 cents
each at $42.33 and $40.08 a barrel, respectively.

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