(Adds U.S. market open, byline, dateline)
* Stocks tumble, oil slumps after Trump gets virus
* U.S. payrolls disappoint, adding to bearish sentiment
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Reuters Live Markets blog: LIVE/
By Herbert Lash and Elizabeth Howcroft
NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Global equity markets
slumped and investors piled into safer gold and the Japanese yen
on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife tested
positive for the coronavirus, adding to market uncertainty just
32 days before U.S. elections.
Trump's bombshell announcement sparked a risk-off mood among
investors already concerned about an elusive coronavirus relief
package aimed at bolstering a U.S. economic recovery that's been
losing steam as seen by slowing jobs growth in September
payrolls data. Gold headed toward its best week in nearly two months while
the Japanese yen made its sharpest gain in more than a month.
But the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose mildly, entrenched
in a narrow trading range it has held for three weeks.
Stocks on Wall Street fell almost 1%, following lesser
declines in Europe's broad pan-regional indexes and an initial
sell-off in Asia.
MSCI's benchmark for global equity markets .MIWD00000PUS
fell 0.62% to 564.49, while its index for emerging markets
stocks .MSCIEF fell 0.06%. Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300
index .FTEU3 dropped 0.28% to 1,398.28.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
0.78%, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.81% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 1.18%.
How long the risk-averse moves will last depends on the
extent of the infection within the White House, said Francois
Savary, chief investment officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime
Partners.
"We may have to wait until the end of the weekend for more
clarity on the situation," he said.
"It will weigh on the market today and early next week but
will not induce a long-lasting correction if the infection is
contained to Trump," he added.
When it comes to stock market shocks, the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, saw the S&P 500
plunge nearly 3% and Wall Street shut down the New York Stock
Exchange at 2:07 p.m. EST. But the losses were confined to a
single day and the market recovered within two days.
The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on
Friday was the last before the Nov. 3 presidential election.
September's employment gains were the smallest since the
jobs recovery started in May and left the U.S. labor market a
long way from recouping the 22.2 million jobs lost in March and
April, indicating slower growth heading into the fourth quarter.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 661,000 jobs last month
after advancing 1.489 million in August. "The recovery continues but at slower rate in part because
the government stimulus has diminished significantly," said Sung
Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles.
BETS ARE OFF
With the election now more uncertain than before, online
gambling site Betfair on Friday suspended betting on the outcome
of the Nov. 3 vote. The news from the White House triggered a rise in the dollar
as well the yen. The dollar index =USD rose 0.092%, with the
euro EUR= down 0.27% at $1.1715.
The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.16% versus the
greenback at 105.35 per dollar.
The Australian dollar, which serves as a liquid proxy for
risk assets, was down 0.23% AUD=D3 . Germany's benchmark 10-year bond was down around 0.7 basis
point at -0.536% DE10YT=RR .
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell $1.53 to $39.4 a barrel.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 slid $1.41 to $37.31 a barrel.
Gold pared some earlier gains.
"Depending on how this situation evolves over the weekend,
notably if more members of the U.S. government's senior
leadership are diagnosed positive, gold could be set for an
extended rally," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at
OANDA.
Spot gold prices XAU= fell 0.02% to $1,904.70 an ounce.
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