* Coronavirus cases rise, Asian markets slip
* Nikkei, Kospi down but poised for best week in 2020
* Major currencies steady, oil rises but has not recovered
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A mid-week rally in Asian share
markets halted on Friday and oil prices steadied as the growing
death toll and economic damage from a new virus spreading from
China curbed further gains.
The death toll in mainland China rose to 636, more than
doubling in just under a week, with the number of infections at
31,161. One of the first Chinese doctors who raised the alarm about
the coronavirus also died from the illness at a Wuhan hospital
in the early hours of Friday. He was 34.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS eased 0.5% on Friday as the lingering anxiety
over the virus outbreak tempered the mood, though it is still up
3.2% for the week.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 and Korea's Kospi .KS11 headed
lower in morning trade, but are on track for their best week of
the year after earlier rises.
The rally in global stocks since Monday's wipeout of Chinese
equities, and the selldown in bonds, was underpinned by China's
sweeping efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
Beijing has pumped billions of dollars into the money market
to stabilise market confidence and support its faltering
economy. Thursday's news of Chinese tariff cuts on some U.S.
goods had also fired up riskier assets.
But with the death toll rising, cities shut off, flights
cancelled and factories closed, global supply chains are in
disarray and fears of a pandemic remain. Chinese stocks also sit
well below
"The rate of infection is not slowing," said Michael
McCarthy, chief markets strategist at brokerage CMC Markets in
Sydney.
"I'm a little surprised at the way European and U.S.
investors have shrugged this off. I think the reaction in the
Asia-Pacific region is much more reasonable. There is real
uncertainty," he said.
In morning trade a slide in the safe-haven yen paused,
leaving the currency sitting by a two-week low at 109.98 per
dollar and poised for its worst weekly loss since last October.
Gains in the Australian dollar AUD=D3 , a liquid proxy for
China because of the heavy exposure of Australian exports, were
likewise halted. It is on track for its first weekly rise this
year. Gold hovered at $1,565.76 per ounce XAU= .
Chinese goods trade figures due during the morning will be
closely watched for an early glimpse of how the virus, and the
harsh measures to contain it, are affecting the flow of goods.
COMMODS CAUTIOUS
Much is unknown about the conronavirus, including its
lethality and transmission routes. The World Health Organization
has said it is too early to call a peak in the outbreak.
Yet China's aggressive response, dubbed a "people's war for
epidemic prevention" by President Xi Jinping, appears to have
inspired confidence.
Overnight, bonds were sold and markets rallied from
Frankfurt to New York. U.S. stocks gained for a fourth straight
session and Wall Street's main indexes hit record highs. The S&P
500 .SPX rose 0.3%. .N
Owing to much greater exposure to Chinese demand and less
access to the benefits of monetary stimulus, commodity prices
have been much more sensitive to conditions on the ground.
Oil and metal prices fell hard as the coronavirus outbreak
gained pace and have been slow to recover.
U.S. crude CLc1 was firm on Friday at 51.37 per barrel,
but is flat for the week and remains 13% below its Jan. 21
level. Brent prices settled at $55.12 per barrel. O/R
A rally in copper - often seen as a barometer of global
economic health because of its wide industrial use - ran out of
steam on Thursday and closed flat in London at $5,735-a-tonne
CMCU3 . METL
"We think that demand could come back strongly as opposed to
gradually in Q2 2020," said Commonwealth Bank commodities
analyst Vivek Dhar.
"But the risk in the near term is that provinces take longer
to return to work in order to contain the spread of the virus."