GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil falls and stocks retrace decline on U.S. recovery concerns

(Updates with equity markets reversing, oil increasing decline)
* Oil prices fall on concern about oversupply
* U.S. jobless claims reinforce view of slower U.S. recovery
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Reuters Live Markets blog: LIVE/

By Alwyn Scott
NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell, the dollar
eased and equities rose, reversing earlier declines on Thursday
as the near-term U.S. economic outlook dimmed and concerns
mounted about excess crude stocks.
Oil fell more than 1% on Thursday after Reuters reported
that some OPEC+ members would need to cut output by an extra
2.31 million barrels per day (bpd) to make up for recent
oversupply.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and
its allies, known an OPEC+, had said on Wednesday the oil market
recovery appeared to be slower than anticipated with growing
risks of a prolonged second wave of the pandemic.
U.S. crude futures settled down 35 cents, or 0.82%, at
$42.58 per barrel. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $44.90
per barrel, down 47 cents, or 1.04%.
Equities largely recovered from an initial slump that
occurred after a surprise jump in U.S. jobless claims to more
than 1 million in the week ended Aug. 15, reported on Thursday.
The new data reinforced bearish Federal Reserve comments on
Wednesday that said job growth had slowed.
The new jobless claims reading was well above the forecast
of economists polled by Reuters that expected 925,000 new
applications in the latest week. "Anytime there's concern about the economic recovery, that
always hurts," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at
Inverness Counsel in New York.
While the long-term outlook for the economy is good, the
latest jobless number and Fed comments show "economic weakness
is not over by any means," Ghriskey added.
Even so, shares of big technology producers and companies
that use tech are rising because the demand for products has
increased, from e-tailer Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O to insurer
Progressive Corp PGR.N , he noted.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 21.19 points,
or 0.08%, to 27,714.07, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.1 points, or
0.09%, to 3,377.95 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 64.83
points, or 0.58%, to 11,211.30.
Economic concerns hit stocks earlier in the day, reflecting
the Fed's pessimism on Wednesday. MSCI's benchmark for global
equity markets .MIWD00000PUS fell 0.24% to 571.95, while its
index for emerging markets stocks .MSCIEF fell 0.5%.
Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 dropped 1.06%
to 1,419.38.
The dollar had been gaining ground since hitting a 27-month
low it hit on Tuesday. On Thursday, the dollar index =USD fell
0.168%, with the euro EUR= up 0.13% to $1.1851.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.22% versus the greenback at
105.89 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.3194, up 0.73% on the day.
Wall Street was knocked from its recent highs on Wednesday
after the Fed's minutes from its July meeting spooked investors
by showing that the swift labor market rebound seen in May and
June had likely slowed. The S&P 500 had reached an all-time high earlier in the week
as prices recovered to their pre-pandemic levels.
The sudden bearishness spilled into Asian markets overnight
and continued in the European session, although shares started
to recover as the morning progressed.
Several Fed policymakers said they may need to ease monetary
policy to help get the economy through the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's easy to forget that we've just experienced one of the
largest and most severe economic shocks on record," said Kaspar
Elmgreen, head of equities at Amundi.
"This story is not over yet, despite what the markets might
be indicating," he said.
Spot gold rebounded overnight and after the U.S. jobless
data on demand for the safe-haven asset. Spot gold XAU= added added 0.8% to $1,945.61 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled down 1.2% to $1,946.50 an
ounce.

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