* USD index on track for largest drop in over a year
* Major Wall Street indexes set for steep weekly pullback
* Tracking the novel coronavirus: https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
(Updates prices, comments; changes byline, dateline; previous
LONDON)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Stocks across the globe and oil
prices continued to tumble on Thursday and U.S. Treasury yields
hit record lows as traders fretted over the economic impact of
the spreading coronavirus.
Governments battling outbreaks from Iran to Australia shut
schools, canceled big events and stocked up on medical supplies
in a race to contain the rapid global spread of the virus.
Bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates
to help soften the expected blow to the world's largest economy
set the dollar on track for its largest daily drop against a
basket of currencies in more than a year.
On Wall Street, major indexes were set for their steepest
weekly pullback since the global financial crisis more than a
decade ago as rising numbers of new infections outside China
raised fears of a pandemic. .N
"Markets have come to realize that the outbreak is much
worse and are now realistically pricing in the impact of the
virus on the economy," said Philip Marey, senior U.S. strategist
at Rabobank. "In that sense it's a bit of a catching up from the
relative optimism that was there in the beginning when markets
thought (the virus) will be contained to China with some minor
outbreak outside."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 744.41 points,
or 2.76%, to 26,213.18, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 86.69 points, or
2.78%, to 3,029.7 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
290.67 points, or 3.24%, to 8,690.10.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 4.35% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
2.53%.
Emerging market stocks lost 1.19%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.24%
lower, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 lost 2.13%.
With the infection rate in China appearing to be slowing,
the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 finished up 0.3%. China's
central bank said on Thursday it would ensure ample liquidity to
help limit the impact of the epidemic.
The dollar fell as Treasury yields continued to plumb new
lows and investors bet that the Fed would cut interest rates to
offset the impact of the spreading coronavirus.
"Safe-haven currencies are doing very well and gold is
heading back higher, and unless we see a slowdown in the
coronavirus cases outside China, risk sentiment will continue to
be undermined," said Peter Kinsella, global head of FX strategy
at UBP in London.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.747%, with the euro EUR= up
1.13% to $1.1002. Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2887,
down 0.12% on the day.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.57% versus the greenback at
109.79 per dollar.
Gold XAU= , sought as a safe-haven, added 1.0% to $1,655.50
an ounce.
Oil prices plunged for a fifth day on fears of a pandemic
that could slow the global economy and dent demand for crude.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 5.4% to $46.10 per barrel and Brent
LCOc1 was last at $51.15, down 4.27% on the day.
US stock futures https://tmsnrt.rs/2uzenVj
Daily market value loss https://tmsnrt.rs/3ceqFna
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