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GLOBAL MARKETS-World shares ease off record highs ahead of U.S. jobs data

Published 04/09/2020, 09:44 pm
Updated 04/09/2020, 09:48 pm
© Reuters.
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* World shares set for worst week in more than two months

* Dollar heads for its best week since May

* German industrial data point to slow recovery

* U.S. jobs data eyed

* World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Tom Arnold and Tom Westbrook

LONDON/SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - World shares slipped from record highs on Friday, and were on course for their worst week in more than two months, while gains in bonds and the dollar were modest as investors waited to see if U.S. jobs data triggers a bigger sell-off.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX traded flat after earlier rebounding from its worst day in more than a month a day before amid a tech-led plunge on Wall Street on Thursday.

German industrial goods orders rose by a smaller-than-expected 2.8% on the month in July, undermining hopes of recovery for Europe's largest economy from the coronavirus shock. broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 1.3% and looked set to snap a six-week winning streak with its biggest weekly loss since April. Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 closed down 1.1%.

The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks shares in 49 countries and had touched record highs earlier on Thursday, shed 0.2%.

"Stock market valuation is rich on a stand-alone basis, but far less extreme compared to other asset classes. Hence, it's likely a bit too soon to be calling the next bear market even though September 3 did mark the top of the equity market back in 1929," said Jeroen Blokland, portfolio manager at Robeco.

U.S. futures were mixed, recovering some ground after heavier losses earlier in the session. Nasdaq 100 futures NQc1 were down 0.4% and S&P 500 futures ESc1 were 0.5% up.

The market focus is now on U.S. payrolls due at 1230 GMT, which could be a selling trigger if an expected slowdown in hiring is deeper than forecast. don't think a huge number of investors will be adjusting their positions ahead of the U.S. payroll data but because of yesterday's sell-off there will be a bit more sensitivity to the data," said James Athey, investment director at Aberdeen Standard Investments.

"U.S. jobs data has been pretty consistently awful in a big picture sense. Fundamentally, there is nothing that can happen in payrolls that can tell you much more about the trajectory of the economy."

Foreign exchange markets were on edge at the possibility and a safety bid helped the dollar =USD cling to gains that have it headed for its best week in more than two months. FRX/

The euro EUR=EBS , which has fallen from a 28-month peak above $1.20 on talk the European Central Bank is concerned about its strength, seems to have eased its slide for now, and last sat at $1.1852.

The yen JPY=EBS was steady at 106.16 per dollar and bonds pared what was a pretty modest rise overnight, given the sell-off in the equity market.

Elsewhere, Turkey's lira weakened for a fifth straight session to a new record low as pressure rose on the central bank to tighten credit amid stubbornly high inflation. U.S. 10-year bond yields US10YT=RR rose about 3 basis points on Friday, having fallen overnight. US/

German yields stabilised, having fallen the day before on equity sell-offs.

TECH TUMBLE, BANKS SURGE

Thursday's tumble was the biggest one-day percentage drop on the tech-focused Nasdaq 100 .NDX since March and the darling stocks of recent months were hit hardest. .N

Still, the plunge in Apple AAPL.O , Tesla TSLA.O and Microsoft MSFT.O only wound the Nasdaq .IXIC back as far as where it sat last Tuesday. It is still up 28% for the year so far and 73% higher than its March trough.

"No single factor sparked the sell-off," said Kerry Craig, Global Market Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, citing more general worries the rally had run too far, too fast.

"However, this is unlikely to be a repeat of the tech wreck of the late 1990s, given how much the market and sector have changed," he added.

In Europe, technology shares .SX8P fell back after limited tech selling in Asia.

The bank index .SX7P helped offset tech's woes, with Spanish banks Bankia BKIA.MC and Caixabank CABK.MC both marking double-digit gains earlier in the session after they said they were considering a merger to create the biggest lender in Spain. In commodity markets, oil was headed for its largest weekly drop since June amid worries about demand as the U.S. summer driving season draws to a close.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 0.6% at $44.35 a barrel and U.S. crude CLc1 was 0.8% higher at $41.69 a barrel. O/R

Gold XAU= added 0.4% as investors sought out the safety of the precious metal ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls data. GOL/

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