GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks wobble as investors assess risks of second wave

* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Investors worry about second wave of coronavirus
* Oil prices support energy-related shares
* Dollar benefits as safe haven currency

By Stanley White and Katanga Johnson
TOKYO/WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) - Asian shares and U.S.
stock futures teetered in choppy trade on Friday as lingering
concerns about an fresh spike in coronavirus cases offset
growing hopes for a quick economic recovery.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.1%. U.S. S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 moved in
and out of the red, and were last up 0.21%.
Shares in China .CSI300 rose 1.15%, led by gains in
financials and the health care sector, but South Korean stocks
.KS11 fell 0.25% due to concern about diplomatic tension with
North Korea.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO erased gains to trade 0.08%
lower, unsettled by a major cyberattack on all levels of
Australian's government. Oil futures rose in Asia on hopes that output cuts will put
a floor under prices.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures STXEc1 were up 0.03%, German DAX
futures FDXc1 edged up 0.04%, while FTSE futures FFIc1
gained 0.19% in cautious trade.
On the whole, markets have been sideswiped this week on
fresh contagion concerns, prompting some investors to temper
their optimism about how quickly the global economy can recover
for the pandemic.
On Thursday around 400 workers at a slaughterhouse in
northern Germany tested positive for the virus. At the same
time, investors are nervously following a cluster of cases in
Beijing and rising cases in several U.S. states. All three major U.S. stock indexes were range-bound and
oscillated through much of the day as investors struggled to
interpret the impact of U.S. employment data without any
guidance from corporations on their earnings.
Data on Thursday showed the number of U.S. unemployed
remains stubbornly high amid signs of a second wave of corporate
layoffs as companies grappled with large declines in revenue
because of the coronavirus outbreak. "The market is looking for its next big impulse," said Chuck
Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services
in Hammond, Indiana.
"There are a lot of impulses in the market for investors to
weigh, sift through and take into account to figure out the next
direction."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.15% on
Thursday, but the S&P 500 .SPX added 0.06%.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 0.33% after spending much
of the session lower.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester said
it could take a year or two for the U.S. economy to return to
pre-pandemic levels, with gross domestic product declining by 6%
in 2020 and the unemployment rate still around 9% by year's end.
Oil futures extended gains from the previous session after
OPEC producers and allies promised to meet their supply cut
commitments and two major oil traders said demand is recovering.
U.S. crude CLc1 ticked up 0.9% to $39.19 a barrel, while
Brent crude LCOc1 rose 0.87% to $41.87 per barrel.
In foreign exchange markets, the dollar headed for its best
week in a month against a basket of major currencies =USD as a
resurgence in coronavirus cases knocked confidence in a rapid
economic recovery and drove investors to the safety of the
world's reserve currency.
The British pound GBP=D3 was mired near a two-week low at
$1.2403 due to concerns that the Bank of England's bond
purchases may not be enough to support an economic revival.
Sterling could stage a mild recovery if retail sales data
due later on Friday point to a rebound in consumer spending.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR edged up
to 0.7019%, but further gains could be capped due to worries
about the U.S. labour market.

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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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