GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks set to fall sharply as Wall Street tumbles

By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) - Asian equities are set to fall
sharply on Friday after Wall Street stocks and oil tumbled over
growing concerns that a resurgence of coronavirus infections
could stunt the pace of reopening economies.
The three major U.S. stock indexes fell more than 5%,
posting their worst day since mid-March, when markets were sent
into freefall by the abrupt economic lockdowns put in place to
contain the pandemic.
"All of a sudden the coronavirus, which has been an also-ran
story for some days now, became more important as the virus
began picking up in some states, and the market began thinking
there may be delays to reopening," said Tim Ghriskey, chief
investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 were down 3.04% at
20:59 GMT, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index .N225 closed down
2.82% at 22,472.91​​​​ on Thursday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index
futures .HSI .HSIc1 were down 2.06%.
Cases of the disease have jumped in several U.S. states in
recent days, raising concern among experts who say authorities
have loosened restrictions put in place to contain the spread
too early.
Cases in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona rose by 40% for the
week ended Sunday, a Reuters tally shows. Florida and Arkansas
are other hot spots. The U.S. Federal Reserve released a gloomy economic outlook
at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.
Chair Jerome Powell warned of a "long road" to recovery.
Economic data appeared to back up the Fed's projections,
with jobless claims still more than double their peak during the
Great Recession and continuing claims at an astoundingly high
20.9 million. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
dropped 6.9%, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 5.89%, while the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC shed 5.27%.
Oil prices tumbled on renewed concerns about demand, as new
cases of the coronavirus disease rise globally, and a large
buildup of U.S. crude inventories. O/R
Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 futures settled 7.62% lower at
$38.55 a barrel in U.S. trading hours, before sliding further in
Asia on Friday. U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 settled at $36.34
a barrel, down $3.26, or 8.23%.
U.S. Treasury and euro zone government bonds rallied after
the Fed on Wednesday signaled it plans years of extraordinary
support to counter the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Yields on 10-year Treasury notes dropped sharply from last
week's peak of 0.96%. US/
The 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR fell 8.6 basis points
to yield 0.6625%, while Germany's 10-year benchmark DE10YT=RR
fell 10 basis points to a nine-day low of -0.43%.
Gold futures GCcv1 settled more than 1% higher and the
dollar, yen and Swiss franc all benefited from safe-haven flows.
The yen rose to a one-month high against the dollar, while
the Swiss franc CHF= climbed to a three-month peak. The dollar
=USD also rose 0.4% to 96.556 against a basket of currencies.
The euro EUR= fell 0.63% to $1.1297, and the yen JPY=
slid 0.22% to $106.8500.
U.S. gold futures settled up 1.1% at $1,739.80 an ounce.
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