* Shares up as virus data less dire in New York, Italy,
France
* Oil prices resume slide after Russia-Saudi Arabia delay
meeting
* Yen drops as Japan readies for state of emergency
* Sterling hit as UK PM Johnson's condition deteriorates
* World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Updates with U.S. stock market close, adds comment on
sterling)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, April 6 (Reuters) - World stock markets jumped on
Monday, encouraged by slowdowns in coronavirus-related deaths
and new cases in some global hot spots, while oil prices tumbled
again due to a delay in talks between Saudi Arabia and Russia to
cut supply.
The U.S. dollar was little changed against a basket of peers
and sterling turned negative versus the greenback and euro after
news that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive
care as he grew sicker with COVID-19.
Equity investors were encouraged as the death toll from the
virus slowed across major European nations, including France and
Italy. In New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that despite
an increase in the number of cases and deaths, a daily decline
in new hospitalizations and other data suggested a possible
plateau in the crisis. "It is definitely not going to be a one-way street but this
potentially could be a turning point; we are starting to get
some good news and hopefully that trend will continue," said
Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook
Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.
"But that is not to say it is going to be a smooth path. We
all know from the recovery we experienced after the 2008
financial crisis there is always a potential for a negative
development to cause the market to pull back again."
U.S. officials have braced the country for a "peak death
week" from the pandemic, with the death toll topping 10,000.
The global economy will continue to feel the effects of the
measures taken to slow the spread of the virus. Investor morale
in the euro zone fell to an all-time low in April and the
currency bloc's economy is in deep recession due to the
coronavirus, which is "holding the world economy in a
stranglehold," a Sentix survey showed. "Never before has the assessment of the current situation
collapsed so sharply in all regions of the world within one
month," Sentix Managing Director Patrick Hussy said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1,627.46
points, or 7.73%, to 22,679.99, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 175.03
points, or 7.03%, to 2,663.68 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
added 540.16 points, or 7.33%, to 7,913.24.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 3.73%
and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 5.49%.
Emerging market stocks rose 2.66%. Japan's Nikkei futures
NKc1 rose 6.77%. Markets in mainland China were closed for a
public holiday.
Despite the day's strong equities gains, caution was not
cast aside.
"This still looks like a case of over-optimism," said Marios
Hadjikyriacos, investment analyst at online broker XM.
"A lot of uncertainty is still in the air and there is no
clear timeline for when any of these economies will be reopened,
which is the most important variable for markets."
OIL RESUMES DECLINE
U.S. crude dropped sharply following two sessions of
double-digit gains after Saudi Arabia and Russia, at odds over
production, postponed a meeting of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, or OPEC+, until
Thursday instead of Monday. O/R
"Perhaps it is best that the meeting was delayed for
producers to cement a minimum of common ground before the actual
discussions take place on Thursday," BNP Paribas analyst Harry
Tchilinguirian said.
The market was further weighed down by a report from data
provider Genscape that inventories at the Cushing storage hub in
Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI, rose by about 5.8 million
barrels last week, traders said.
U.S. crude CLc1 recently fell 7.3% to $26.27 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $33.13, down 2.87% on the day.
JAPAN IN STATE OF EMERGENCY
In currency markets, the yen weakened 0.60% versus the
greenback at 109.16 per dollar and also slipped against other
major currencies as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the
government would declare a state of emergency as early as
Tuesday to curb a spike in coronavirus infections.
The dollar gained ground against the euro while the pound
slipped after news of Johnson's move to the ICU. British Foreign
Secretary Dominic Raab is designated to take over leadership of
the country if Johnson is unable to fulfill his role.
"Clearly the pound has weakened and that reflects the
uncertainty and clarity over how much authority Raab will have,"
said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa in
London. "From an economic point of view there's unlikely to be
much change. But if and when there are difficult decisions to be
made, the lack of guidance at the top could be concerning."
The euro EUR= was down 0.12% to $1.0795 and Sterling
GBP= was last trading at $1.2239, down 0.17% on the day.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.03%.
Yields on safe-haven U.S. government bonds crept higher in
fixed income markets, reflecting the slightly brighter tone in
world stock markets. US/
Lou Brien, a strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago, said Wall
Street's upward trajectory was "the first and last reason why
Treasuries are lower in price and higher in yield this morning."
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 25/32 in price
to yield 0.6666%, from 0.589% late on Friday. The 30-year bond
US30YT=RR last fell 1-14/32 in price to yield 1.2676%, from
1.216%.
Despite the stocks rally, gold prices touched a more than
three-week high. Spot gold XAU= added 2.8% to $1,660.84 an
ounce.
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