GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, dollar slide on Trump's election tweet, economic data

(Adds mid-afternoon trading results, oil settlement prices)
By Lawrence Delevingne
BOSTON, July 30 (Reuters) - Stock markets, oil prices and
the dollar slid on Thursday after President Donald Trump raised
the possibility of delaying the November U.S. election and new
government data underscored the coronavirus' deep economic
impact.
Trump, facing an immediate pushback from top Republicans,
repeated his claims, without evidence, of mail-in voter fraud,
writing in a post on Twitter, "delay the election until people
can properly, securely and safely vote???" "It's moved the market, for sure," said Priya Misra, head of
global rates strategy at TD Securities in New York. "Not only do
we have uncertainty about who wins, I think we have uncertainty
about the process."
A report on additional jobless claims and collapsed gross
domestic product had already set Wall Street up to open
lower. The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS fell 3.13 points
or 0.56%, to 552.34.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
221.05 points, or 0.83%, to 26,318.52, and the S&P 500 .SPX
lost 13.1 points, or 0.40%, at 3,245.34.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC bucked the trend slightly,
adding 0.48% to hit 10,593.16, with technology stocks like
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and Google-parent
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O gaining in advance of their quarterly
earnings after the bell. In Europe, dismal earnings reports and weaker-than-expected
German Gross Domestic Product data worsened an already sour
mood, with the STOXX 600 .STOXX closing down 2.2%. Germany's
DAX index .GDAXI slid 3.5%, with all 30 components declining.
Earlier gains in Asian shares were undone, with MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS closing 0.17% lower, while Japan's Nikkei
.N225 lost 0.26%.
U.S. GDP collapsed at a 32.9% annualized rate last quarter,
slightly less than expected, but still the deepest decline in
output since the government started keeping records in 1947, the
Commerce Department said on Thursday. "The fact that it was better than expected maybe is a good
thing, but certainly not much better, and it's still a terrible
number," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and
derivatives with the Schwab Center for Financial Research.
The worries came despite news on Wednesday that all U.S.
Federal Reserve members voted as expected to leave the target
range for short-term interest rates between 0% and 0.25%, where
it has been since March, and use its "full range of tools" if
needed. Investors must now watch negotiations in Washington over a
new coronavirus relief package for the world's largest economy.
Trump said on Wednesday his administration and Democrats in
Congress were still "far apart" on a new coronavirus relief
bill. Failure to agree risks letting a
$600-per-week unemployment benefit lapse when it expires this
week.
In currencies, the dollar index =USD , which tracks the
greenback versus a basket of six currencies, fell 0.365 points
or 0.39%, to 93.088, and remains on course for its worst monthly
performance in a decade.
The dollar has fallen on expectations the Fed will maintain
its ultra-loose monetary policy for years, which risks adding
inflationary pressure.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR fell
3.6 basis points to yield 0.5446%.
Oil prices fell on concerns that surging coronavirus
infections worldwide would jeopardize a recovery in fuel demand.
O/R Brent LCOc1 , the international benchmark,
settled down 81 cents at $42.94 a barrel. U.S. crude futures
CLc1 fell $1.35 to settle at $39.92 a barrel.
Spot gold prices XAU= fell $17.8829, or 0.91%, to
$1,952.49 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.6% to
settle at $1,942.30 an ounce. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
Fed balance sheet https://tmsnrt.rs/33c98cW
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