GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares retreat on coronavirus resurgence, fading U.S. stimulus hopes

* Ex-Japan Asian shares down 0.6%, Nikkei slips 0.5%
* U.S. tech shares hesitate to rise above Sept peak
* Rising fear of new lockdowns sap risk appetite
* Mnuchin dashes hope of stimulus before election
* European shares seen falling 0.7%

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Global shares slipped on Thursday
as investors locked in recent gains amid rising concerns about
resurgent COVID-19 infections and after the U.S. Treasury
Secretary dashed any remaining hopes of a stimulus package
before the Nov. 3 election.
European shares were set to open lower, with the
pan-European Euro Stoxx50 futures STXEc1 falling 0.7%. MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS lost 0.6% while Japan's Nikkei .N225 dropped
0.5%.
U.S. S&P 500 futures ESc1 sagged 0.25% in Asia after major
U.S. stock indexes ended the previous session lower, with the
S&P 500 .SPX closing down 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite Index
.IXIC shedding 0.8%.
The New York FANG Plus index .NYFANG of the top U.S. tech
firms has struggled to rise about its record peak hit in
September as investors lacked conviction to test new highs.
"My gut feeling is that many investors are aware that those
growth shares have been bought excessively, and that the U.S.
election could change the driver of the market," said Kenji
Hashizume, senior fund manager at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset
Management in Hong Kong.
Concerns that a resurgence in the COVID-19 pandemic could
lead governments to again shut down economies spurred
profit-taking.
With COVID-19 cases surging, some European nations are
closing schools, cancelling surgery and enlisting student medics
as overwhelmed authorities braced for a repeat of the nightmare
scenario seen earlier this year. That helped push the German 10-year Bund yield to as low as
minus 0.586% DE10YT=RR , a rate last seen in May.
Downbeat comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin that a stimulus deal was unlikely be made before the
Nov. 3 vote also provided another excuse for profit-taking.
Still, many investors expect large stimulus after the
election, which Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is
increasingly expected to win.
Although Biden has been seen as more likely to raise taxes
on corporate profits and capital gains, investors are also
pointing to other potential benefits of a Biden presidency, such
as less global trade uncertainty.
"It smacks of opportunism when markets were saying just a
few months ago stocks would crash if Trump would lose and now
they say a Biden victory would be good for stocks," said
Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ
Morgan Stanley Securities. "What this suggests is that markets
are flush with cash after massive monetary easings by global
central banks."
In currencies, sterling was well-bid at $1.3017 GBP=D4 ,
having climbed 0.6% on Wednesday on hopes of progress in talks
between Britain and the European Union.
But some of the enthusiasm was lost after British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson told the head of the European Commission,
Ursula von der Leyen, that he was disappointed there had not
been more progress in the talks. The Australian dollar shed 0.5% to $0.7128 AUD=D4 after
the country's central bank stoked speculation of a near-term cut
in interest rates and more longer-dated government debt
purchases. The need for further Australian stimulus was underlined by
data showing 29,500 jobs were lost in October while the
unemployment rate rose a tick to 6.9%. The euro moved little at $1.1725 EUR= while the dollar
changed hands at 105.20 yen JPY= .
The Thai baht THB= has so far weathered the impact of
mounting protests against the government as the country has been
prone for years to sometimes violent political crashes.
Oil prices rose slightly after U.S. crude stockpiles fell
last week, adding to 2% gains overnight, as OPEC and its allies
were seen fully complying in September with their pact to curb
output.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures
picked up 0.1% to $41.07 a barrel while Brent crude LCOc1
futures rose 0.1% to $43.34 a barrel.