* Tracking the coronavirus: https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
* World stocks fall; CDC, WHO comments weigh
* Almost $3 trillion wiped off world stocks
* Treasury yields remain near record lows
* Japan stocks hit by fears of Olympics cancellation
(Updates throughout, changes byline, dateline)
By Sujata Rao
LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - World stocks tumbled for the
fifth straight day on Wednesday, while safe-haven gold rose back
towards seven-year highs and U.S. bond yields held near record
lows after governments and health authorities warned of a
possible coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. Treasury yields teetered near record lows hit the
previous day, when Wall Street equity indexes slid more than 3%
on news the coronavirus was continuing to spread and dozens of
countries, from South Korea to Italy, had accelerated emergency
measures.
Adding to alarm, the World Health Organization said the
epidemic had peaked in China, but urged other countries to
prepare for virus outbreaks The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention also, in a change of tone,
advised Americans to be ready for community spread of the virus.
virus has claimed almost 3,000 lives in mainland China
where drastic travel restrictions slammed the brakes on China's
manufacturing and consumer spending, and there are worries other
countries will face similar disruptions.
"China's template to contain the virus was to restrict
economic activity and that's hitting home. Markets are fearing
there will be sequential shutdowns of economic systems to stop
the spread," Salman Ahmed, chief strategist at Lombard Odier,
said.
Those fears of severe economic damage, even a recession,
have sent MSCI's all-country equity index to 2-1/2-month lows,
wiping almost $3 trillion off its value this week alone. chart
Asian shares excluding Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 1% while
Tokyo lost 0.8% on concerns the virus could force the
cancellation of the Olympics scheduled for July. That weighed
heavily on shares in companies such as Dentsu 4324.T that are
heavily involved in the Games.
A pan-European equity index lost 1% .STOXX and equity
futures for Wall Street were down around 0.8% ESc1 .
The economic growth worries are reflected in steep drop in
bond yields - with 10-year U.S. yields down 60 basis points
since the start of the year.
Ten- and 30-year U.S. Treasury yields teetered just off
record lows and another safe-haven, German bonds also saw
10-year yields tumble to four-month lows below -0.5% US10YT=RR
Analysts note growing bets on interest rate cuts -
expectations that monetary policy would be deployed yet again to
head off any downturn.
Money markets now price roughly two 25-basis-point rate cuts
by the Federal Reserve and expect a 10 bps cut by the European
Central Bank by December. A Bank of England rate cut is also
fully priced for September.
"Part of this selloff is a cry for help," Ahmed said but he
said Fed cuts were unlikely in the early part of the year unless
"we get an Italy-like situation in the United States."
The rate cut expectations weighed on the dollar while
continued to pullback against the yen from recent 10-month high
of 112.23 yen. JPY=EBS It traded around 110 yen.
The greenback also came off an almost three-year high
against the euro, reached on Feb. 20 while it remained flat to a
basket of currencies =USD .
But some reckon the greenback slump may not last, given the
Fed's warines of rushing into rate cuts.
"The significant dovish tilt being priced in by markets from
the Fed may not materalise and that might cause the next leg of
the dollar rally," said Peter Chatwell, head of multi-asset
strategy at Mizuho.
The dash for safety also boosted gold XAU=> 1% to around
$1,650 per ounce, heading back towards seven-year highs of
1,688.66 hit on Monday.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 1% to $53.95 per barrel.
Global stocks' performance vs. reported coronavirus cases https://tmsnrt.rs/3c3WvTr
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