* Virus surges in U.S., new restrictions considered
* AxJ down 0.7%, falls over 1% in Japan and Australia
* U.S. stock futures down 0.7%; dollar steady
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Tom Westbrook and Jessica DiNapoli
SINGAPORE/NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - Asia's stock markets
slipped, bonds rose and the U.S. dollar was firm on Thursday as
surging U.S. coronavirus cases, global trade tensions and an
International Monetary Fund downgrade to economic projections
knocked confidence in a recovery.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.7%, Tokyo's Nikkei .N225 slumped 1.4%
and Australia's ASX 200 .AXJO tumbled 1.8%. U.S. stock futures
ESc1 also declined 0.7% following on from an overnight slide
on Wall Street.
Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China are closed for
public holidays on Thursday.
Florida, Oklahoma and South Carolina reported record
increases in new cases on Wednesday. Seven other states had
record highs earlier in the week and Australia posted its
biggest daily rise in infections in two months.
The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
ordered travellers from nine other states to quarantine on
arrival, a worry for investors who had mostly been expecting an
end to pandemic restrictions. Texas is also facing a "massive outbreak" and authorities
are considering localised restrictions, Governor Greg Abbott
said in a television interview.
Australian airline Qantas QAN.AX said on Thursday it
doesn't expect sizeable international operations until at least
July 2021, as the carrier announced plans to sack a fifth of its
workforce and raise $1.3 billion to stay afloat. The International Monetary Fund said it now expects a deeper
global recession, with output to shrink 4.9% this year, much
sharper than the 3.0% contraction predicted in April.
"There is a little bit of reality bites coming," said Damian
Rooney, senior instructional salesman at stockbroker Argonaut in
Perth.
"I don't think there was a particular straw that broke the
camel's back, but people are a little bit twitchy - there are a
lot of reasons to be pretty cautious."
Oil prices, a proxy for global energy consumption and
economic growth, nursed losses following a 5% tumble overnight
as U.S. crude storage hit another record and demand worries
resurfaced. O/R
The dollar clung on to broad overnight gains which had
lifted it from near a two-week low. FRX/
Yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries US10YT=RR fell
to a one-week low of 0.6724%.
HANDBRAKE
Worries were even more pronounced on Wall Street overnight,
and pulled major indexes back to flat for the month. .N
The S&P 500 .SPX fell 2.6% overnight and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC snapped eight sessions of gains and slipped
2.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI tumbled 2.72% with
retail-investor darlings in the travel sector hammered.
Anxiety in markets is likely to remain heightened ahead of
U.S. jobless claims data due at 1230 GMT, along with virus case
figures, and confidence could be dented by disappointment on
either count.
"Any improvement in jobs might be counteracted if there is
another pickup in the case load in the United States," said Kyle
Rodda, market analyst at brokerage IG in Melbourne.
"It's a potential handbrake on the growth rebound story."
On top of virus concerns, worrying signals on the trade
front have unnerved investors.
The United States has added items valued at $3.1 billion to
a list of European goods eligible to be hit with import duties,
as it seeks to keep the pressure on in a long-running dispute
over aircraft subsidies. The Trump administration has also determined that Chinese
firms, including Huawei and video surveillance company Hikvision
002415.SZ , are owned or controlled by the Chinese military,
laying the groundwork for sanctions and fresh Sino-U.S. tension.
That has stalled a rally in riskier currencies, and dropped
the Australian dollar AUD=D3 under 69 cents to $0.6864, and
had the kiwi NZD=D3 stalled around 64 cents. AUD/
Gold XAU= steadied at $1,764.07 an ounce. GOL/
U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose by 6 cents a barrel or 0.1%
to $38.07 and Brent crude futures LCOc1 were flat at $40.30.
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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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