(Updates to afternoon)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street sank and U.S.
Treasury yields edged lower on Thursday as euphoria over a
potential COVID-19 vaccine faded in the face of spiking
infections and threat of a new round of economic restrictions to
contain the pandemic.
The sell-off was broad, with economically-sensitive cyclical
stocks, which rallied on Monday and Tuesday, suffering the
deepest losses.
On Monday, Pfizer Inc PFE.N announced the COVID-19 vaccine
candidate it developed with German partner BioNTech SE BNTX.O
appears to be 90% effective at preventing infection, news that
sent equity markets surging worldwide.
But new coronavirus infections in the United States and
elsewhere are reaching record levels and tightening economic
restrictions to contain the spread has dampened the prospect of
a quick end to the global health crisis. "Earlier this week, it was 'a vaccine is here,' but today
the trading seems to be 'the vaccine might not be here for a
while,'" said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon
Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "And the acceleration
of new cases seems to be raising the idea that more stringent
lockdowns are going to be necessary."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 392.7 points,
or 1.34%, to 29,004.93, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 43.66 points, or
1.22%, to 3,529 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 84.09
points, or 0.71%, to 11,702.34.
A surge in new coronavirus infections prompted a retreat of
European shares away from eight-month highs, with banks leading
the decline, as hopes waned for a quick economic rebound.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 0.88% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.78%.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.18%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.12%
higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 0.68%.
U.S. Treasury yields, which can be viewed as a gauge of risk
appetite, slumped amid the risk-off mood and hit session lows
following a tweet from Bloomberg that the Trump administration
was backing away from stimulus talks. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 30/32 in price
to yield 0.8897%, from 0.989% late on Tuesday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last rose 73/32 in price to
yield 1.6572%, from 1.76% late on Tuesday.
Crude oil prices reversed early gains, snapping a three-day
rally on growing doubts over a near-term demand recovery. O/R
U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.80% to settle at $41.12 per
barrel, while Brent LCOcv1 settled at $43.53 per barrel, down
0.62% on the day.
The dollar was slightly down against a basket of currencies,
reflecting oscillating sentiment between vaccine hopes and
coronavirus worries. The dollar index .DXY fell 0.07%, with the euro EUR= up
0.23% to $1.1804.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.27% versus the greenback at
105.15 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.311, down 0.84% on the day.
Risk-off sentiment attracted investors back to gold, which
continued to recover some ground that the safe-haven metal lost
in Monday's plunge. Spot gold XAU= added 0.6% to $1,876.61 an ounce.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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
Stocks hit new highs https://tmsnrt.rs/38vx2mG
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>