GLOBAL MARKETS-Crude costs money again after shock crash, stocks stay in doldrums

* U.S. crude climbs above zero, Brent at $25.78
* Asian stocks post steepest drop since March
* Eikon users click here https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=919104201
for an overview of virus news

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil bounced back
into positive territory on Tuesday, but a historic plunge below
zero rattled investors and triggered the steepest drop in Asian
stock markets in a month.
Traders could not give away West Texas Intermediate CLc1
overnight after a storage squeeze turned holders of the
contracts expiring later on Tuesday to forced sellers. O/R
A $39 rise leaves the price for May delivery at $1.38 per
barrel and investors unnerved about further dislocation.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS lost 2%, as did the Nikkei .N225 , EuroSTOXX 50
futures STXEc1 and FTSE futures FFIc1 . E-mini futures for
the S&P 500 ESc1 fell 0.5%, while bonds and the dollar rose.
"The (oil) price action was scary," said Kyle Rodda, market
analyst at IG Markets in Melbourne. "It points to the fact that
supply and demand has been destroyed."
The collapse also came together with more signs of a slow
and difficult recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Health Organization warned that any lifting of
lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus must be
gradual, and if restrictions were to be relaxed too soon, there
would be a resurgence of infections. Hong Kong's government said it will extend restrictions
aimed at tackling the coronavirus for another two weeks.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel cautioned shoppers rushing
to just-reopened stores that lockdown measures could be
tightened again if fresh cases arise. And in the United States, a return to work is looking
increasingly chaotic, as some states relax lockdowns while
others urging caution faced demonstrators demanding an end to
restrictions. "There is little room for complacency," DBS strategists
Philip Wee and Eugene Leow said in a note.
"Weak oil prices and China's negative growth are reminders
that the coronavirus has hurt demand."
Stock markets in Sydney .AXJO , Hong Kong .HSI and
Shanghai .SSEC fell around 2%.
South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 and won KRW= dived after CNN
reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was gravely ill,
but recovered somewhat after South Korean government sources
said the story was untrue. IN OIL
Monday's plunge in U.S. crude came as the May contract
expiry looms at the end of Tuesday trade. Stabilisation just above zero and June prices CLc2 at $21
per barrel point to some relief.
International benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 , more readily
seaborne than its U.S. counterpart, held around $25.38 per
barrel. That is still some 60% under January's peak,
highlighting the disruption to energy consumption and the long
road back to solid global growth that underpins oil demand.
"Even as, or if, virus containment measures ease in the
coming weeks, the world is going to be awash in oil for some
time," said Kerry Craig, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan
Asset Management. "Economies may be slow to get back up and
running to a pace that would warrant a strong increase in
demand."
That had bond markets priced for caution and the safe-haven
dollar in the ascendancy. The dollar rose against the euro, yen,
pound and Antipodean currencies.
It last stood at $0.6300 per Aussie AUD=D3 and at a
one-and-a-half week high of $1.2400 per pound GBP= .
The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries, which falls
when prices rise, dropped under 0.6% to 0.5988% in afternoon
trade.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Global bonds dashboard http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
U.S. crude oil's historic crash below zero https://reut.rs/2KmJk3e
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>