BRAND-NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Worldwide equities trended lower on Thursday on issues about the long-term financial impact of the brand-new coronavirus and simmering U.S.-China stress, though oil markets set aside those concerns and marched to a 2-1/2 month high.
FILE PHOTO – People stroll past the London Stock Exchange Group offices in the City of London, Britain, December 29,2017 REUTERS/Toby Melville
The London FTSE, Paris FCHI and Frankfurt.GDAX bourses fell as did the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wall Street, however the Dow industrials edged higher in choppy trade.
The dollar sold a narrow range as investors weighed the effect of worldwide business lockdowns and the euro’s four-day rally against the U.S. currency ran out of steam.
Gold slipped 1%, as a strong dollar pressed it off today’s 7-1/2 year peak.
Rising stress in between Washington and Beijing over China’s handling of the coronavirus break out provided investors pause. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesdau called China’s $2 billion pledge to combat the pandemic “paltry.”
” The biggest hazard to the U.S. market this year is really the capacity for ignition of the t