Synovus Financial weighs merger options after drawing interest - Bloomberg
* Caution sets in as coronavirus makes a comeback
* Oil prices slide
* European shares bounce back
* Asian stocks close lower
By Julien Ponthus
LONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Financial markets remained shaky
on Friday as hopes for a new round of U.S. fiscal stimulus met
fears that social restrictions to tackle the coronavirus
pandemic would undermine economic recovery.
Oil prices and Asian stocks slid, but European stocks
recovered in morning trading after sharp losses the day before.
"It's a tug-of-war between risks that are well flagged, the
pandemic, the U.S. election, Brexit, and at the same time hope
that these same risks can be resolved in matter of weeks or
months", said Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at
Barclays.
"In the meantime, it's hard for investors to take positions
on the short term given all the uncertainties," he said.
"Looking forward to 2021, there's a good probability these risks
will be behind us."
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX rose 0.8% about an hour
after the open. They had lost over 2% on Thursday as new social
restrictions in Europe, including a curfew in major French
cities and tighter restrictions in London, spooked investors.
The euro EUR=EBS also regained some ground, rising about
0.1% to $1.1717 as investors shifted from perceived safe havens
such as the dollar and the yen to riskier currencies.
Germany's 10-year bond yield was set for its biggest weekly
drop since August as doubts grew about the economic recovery in
the euro zone.
Uncertainty regarding the trade negotiations between the
European Union and the UK remained high, as British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson was expected to respond to the EU's
demand for more concessions. Sterling gained about 0.2% against the euro at 0.9050 pence
and rose 0.3% against the dollar at $1.2938.
Oil prices continued to slide, dragged down by concerns that
resurgent COVID-19 cases in Europe and the United States would
curtail demand.
Brent crude futures for December LCOc1 dropped 0.5% to
$42.93 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
futures for November delivery CLc1 dipped 0.4%, to $40.81 a
barrel.
Spot gold XAU= prices were flat at $1,909.05 but looked
set for their first weekly drop in three.
Futures for Wall Street's S&P 500 Esc1 were flat after
ending lower on Thursday following a rise in weekly jobless
claims.
U.S. President Donald Trump's offer on Thursday to increase
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.
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