GLOBAL MARKETS-Global equities stall, bonds gain as Europe COVID cases rise

By David Randall
NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - Global equities stalled and
safe haven assets such as U.S. Treasuries rallied Monday as
investors weighed rising coronavirus cases in Europe against a
break in the recent run-up of bond yields sparked by concerns of
higher global inflation.
An unsettled day on global markets saw risk assets such as
oil and emerging market stocks rally alongside safe havens such
as Treasuries, while Turkish assets took a beating after a shock
weekend decision to replace the country's hawkish central bank
governor. A third wave of COVID-19 across Europe due to highly
contagious coronavirus variants is increasing concerns of
another round of economic restrictions, with Paris going into a
four-week lockdown late last week.
"The number of new COVID-19 cases is rising rapidly, and an
extension of the lockdown inevitable for many European
countries. No one will be surprised by such a decision," said
Milan Cutkovic, market analyst at Axi.
"The question is whether investors will remain calm amid the
increasing uncertainty. If the vaccination campaign would be
running successfully, it would be much easier for market
participants to ignore the sharp uptick in new cases."
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.04%, with slight gains in Europe but a 2.1% decline in Japan's
Nikkei index.
In morning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI fell 54.86 points, or 0.17%, to 32,573.11, the
S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.27 points, or 0.13%, to 3,918.37 and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 75.90 points, or 0.57%, to
13,291.14.
Heavyweight technology stocks sold off last week as the
surge in bond yields in recent weeks sparked a flight from
richly valued equities.
A host of Fed officials speak this week, including three
appearances by Chair Jerome Powell, providing plenty of
opportunity for more volatility in markets.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 12/32 in price
to yield 1.6893%, from 1.732% late on Friday
In currency markets, Turkey's lira fell 15% TRYTOM=D3 to
8.485 against the dollar, its worst plunge since the last
Turkish crisis of 2018, before paring losses on calming words
from Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan. "We don't see any contagion risk to the rest of emerging
markets, it's been shown time and time again that the lira is
its own story," said John Hardy, head of foreign exchange
strategy at Saxo Bank.
Turkish sovereign bond yields soared above 18%, hitting a
22-month high.
Oil prices steadied after a broad sell-off last week as
market players remained confident demand would rebound later in
the year, despite European coronavirus lockdowns dimming hopes
for a quick economic recovery. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 rose 0.42% to $61.68 per barrel and Brent
LCOc1 was at $64.58, up 0.08% on the day.

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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 World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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