* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Sentiment cautious as coronavirus makes a comeback
* Investors cheer Chinese shares for earnings outlook
* Risk aversion boosts dollar and yen
By Stanley White and Suzanne Barlyn
TOKYO/NEW YORK Oct 16 (Reuters) - Asian stocks gave up early
gains and fell on Friday, as a resurgence of coronavirus
infections in Europe and the United States hurt risk appetite.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS dipped 0.22%. U.S. stock futures ESc1 also
eased 0.12%.
Shares in China .CSI300 initially rose as investors
snapped up banking shares due to an improving earnings outlook,
but the broader market surrendered those gains and fell 0.55%.
Australian stocks .AXJO fell 0.72%. Japanese stocks
.N225 shed 0.49%, and South Korean shares .KS11 lost 0.98%.
Oil futures extended declines in Asian trade as another
round of lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus
threatens to further weaken global energy demand.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures STXEc1 were up 0.5%, German DAX
futures FDXc1 rose 0.47%, and FTSE futures FFIc1 gained
0.6%.
U.S. President Donald Trump's offer on Thursday to raise the
size of a fiscal stimulus package to win the support of
Republicans and Democrats helped narrow Wall Street's losses,
though many investors still believe a deal is unlikely before
the Nov. 3 election. "There's a bit of worry there and also at what we're seeing
in America and in Europe regarding the virus and how it seems to
be taking hold pretty significantly again," said Grant
Williamson, investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene in
Christchurch, New Zealand.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
0.07%, the S&P 500 .SPX 0.15% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
dropped 0.47%.
An unexpected rise in U.S. weekly jobless claims figures
added to worries about a sputtering world economy, especially in
the face of a spike in COVID-19 cases in Europe. The dollar index =USD stood at 93.819, close to a two-week
high as signs of a stalling U.S. economy drove safe-harbour
flows into the greenback.
The one currency that the dollar fell against was the yen,
which strengthened 0.22% to 105.24 per dollar given the Japanese
currency is also seen as a haven. The euro EUR= was unchanged at $1.1704, while a firmer
U.S. dollar dragged on sterling GBP= , which was last trading
at $1.2893, down 0.17% on the day.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.22% to $1,904.53 an ounce.
The coronavirus outbreak originated in China last year, but
Beijing's aggressive efforts to control the virus mean its
economy is recovering faster than other major countries, which
suggests an improvement in corporate earnings.
Hong Kong shares in Semiconductor International
Manufacturing Corp 0981.HK (SMIC) rose 0.81% on Friday after
China's top chipmaker raised revenue and gross margin forecasts
for the third quarter.
In contrast, many European countries have resumed lockdowns,
and London will enter a tighter COVID-19 lockdown from midnight
on Friday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson seeks to tackle a
swiftly accelerating second coronavirus wave. The European Union put the onus on Britain to compromise on
their new economic partnership or stand ready for trade
disruptions in less than 80 days, another negative for
sterling. The Australian dollar fell 0.3% versus the greenback at
$0.7075, hurt by a decline in commodities.
Oil prices were weighed by concerns about the coronavirus
and its impact on the world economy. Brent crude futures LCOc1
fell 1.11% to $42.68 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures CLc1
slipped 1.1% to $40.51 a barrel.
Traders' preference for safety helped government bonds. The
yield on U.S. Treasuries benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR
eased to 0.7289%, while the two-year yield US10YT=RR held at
0.1390%.
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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
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(Editing by Sam Holmes and Jacqueline Wong)