GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks give up gains, on pace for worst quarter since 2008

(Updates to early afternoon U.S. trading)
By David Randall
NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - Global stock markets dipped
in volatile trading on Tuesday as investors assessed the
economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, while the MSCI
benchmark of world equities was on pace to finish its worst
quarter since the financial crisis of 2008.
Oil prices, meanwhile, remained near their lowest levels
since 2002 under the weight of a worldwide economic slowdown and
travel restrictions, and were set to end the quarter down nearly
70% from the start of the year. Government bond yields held
steady as investors remained hesitant to move back into riskier
assets.
Stocks have rallied since the start of last week but remain
down more than 20% since the start of the year. European
equities finished their worst three months since 2002, while
Britain's FTSE index posted its largest quarterly drop since
1987.
The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 is set for its worst first
quarter since 1938.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.19% following modest gains in Europe and steep declines in
Asia. The index is down 21% for the quarter.
In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average .DJI fell 197.08 points, or 0.88%, to
22,130.4, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 25.29 points, or 0.96%, to
2,601.36 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 28.92 points,
or 0.37%, to 7,745.23.
The Dow had been down by more than 200 points in morning
trading and briefly turned positive before losing those gains,
suggesting that some investors were bargain-hunting or were
rebalancing their portfolios at quarter's end.
"Stocks have been on a wild ride ... (and) not surprisingly,
investors are split on whether to lean into or fade the current
rally," said Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. equity strategist at
Credit Suisse Securities in New York.
The number of coronavirus infections globally is heading
toward 800,000. Deutsche Bank analysts noted, however, that for
two consecutive days, the global growth in new cases was below
10%, after exceeding that for most of the past two weeks.
Health officials are much more cautious. A World Health
Organization official warned on Tuesday that even in the
Asia-Pacific region, the epidemic was "far from over."
Government bond yields dipped slightly, with U.S. benchmark
10-year notes US10YT=RR down 4/32 in price to yield 0.6585%,
from 0.671% late on Monday.
"In spite of the significant sell-off of most
growth-oriented assets since mid-February, we are concerned
there is further downside ahead," said Salman Baig, an
investment manager at Unigestion.
"The violent market action should not be understated, but
the underlying cause – an accelerating pandemic requiring large
parts of the economy to shut down – is still with us."
Oil prices rose off the 18-year lows hit on Monday after the
United States and Russia agreed to talks to stabilize energy
markets.
Crude prices have been hit by a double whammy, with U.S.
crude at one point falling below $20 a barrel on Monday, as a
result of the virus outbreak cutting demand worldwide and Saudi
Arabia's price war with Russia.
Brent crude LCOc1 dipped $0.02, or 0.1%, at $22.74 a
barrel. U.S. crude Clc1 climbed 1.4%, to $20.38 a barrel,
after closing Monday at $20.09, its lowest since February 2002.
The dollar, measured against a basket of currencies,
strengthened 0.4% to 99.652 =USD .

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