(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments;
new byline, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Luxury and travel stocks drop across the board
* Yen, bonds gain on safe-haven move; USD slips
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Risk assets took a hit across
the globe on Tuesday while the Japanese yen and some developed
country bond prices gained as financial markets reacted to
mounting concern about a new strain of flu-like virus in China.
Authorities in China confirmed the coronavirus could spread
through human contact. The mayor of Wuhan, where the virus may
have originated, confirmed a sixth virus-related death.
The World Health Organization called a meeting for
Wednesday to consider declaring a global health emergency.
Investors worried that about the threat of contagion, as
hundreds of millions travel for the Chinese Lunar New Year
holidays, which peak over the coming weekend.
Emerging market stocks lost 1.59 percent. MSCI's broadest
index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS
closed 1.63 percent lower, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 lost
0.91 percent.
Hong Kong, which suffered badly during the SARS outbreak,
saw its index fall 2.8% .HSI .
The chill in Asia carried over to European markets. Shares
of luxury goods makers - which have large exposure to China -
were among those declining the most.
A U.S. index of airline stocks fell 2.1% and hotel and
casino operators Las Vegas Sands Corp LVS.N and Wynn Resorts
Ltd WYNN.O , both of which have large operations in China,
dropped about 5%.
The virus outbreak "seems to be the biggest negative," said
Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg,
Florida. "We may see U.S. markets try to spit it out because it
doesn't have that much of an impact on U.S. economy."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 64.41 points,
or 0.22 percent, to 29,283.69, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 5.41
points, or 0.16 percent, to 3,324.21 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 2.30 points, or 0.02 percent, to 9,386.65.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 lost 0.32
percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe
.MIWD00000PUS shed 0.36 percent.
In other markets, U.S.- and German 10-year government bond
yields touched a two week low while the safe-haven yen JPY=
strengthened 0.26 percent versus the dollar at 109.92.
Some recalled the fallout from a Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002-2003 that China initially
covered up.
"The fear is that it could be a SARS-type event, which was
an economic issue," said Ellis Phifer, market strategist at
Raymond James in Tennessee. "But this is all cautionary. The
market is not panicking or anything."
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR last rose
19/32 in price to yield 1.7708 percent, from 1.835 percent late
on Friday. Monday was a U.S. market holiday.
The dollar index .DXY fell 0.08 percent, with the euro
EUR= up 0.02 percent to $1.1096.
Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.3059, up 0.38 percent
on the day.
The Australian dollar AUD= dropped on the flu worries
since the country attracts large numbers of Chinese tourists,
who tend to be big spenders over the Lunar New Year holidays.
Some investors were relieved that U.S. President Donald
Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron seemed to have struck
a truce over a proposed digital tax. They agreed to hold off on
a potential tariffs war until the end of the year, a French
diplomatic source said. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.17 percent to $1,557.60 an
ounce.
Oil prices fell on expectations that a well-supplied market
would be able to absorb disruptions that have cut Libya's crude
production to a trickle.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.34 percent to $58.34 per barrel and
Brent LCOc1 was last at $64.82, down 0.58 percent on the day.