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(Updates through close of U.S. trading)
By David Randall
NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - World equity benchmarks and
oil prices drifted lower on Tuesday while safe-haven assets
gained as an extended economic lockdown in Germany and U.S. and
European sanctions on China curbed risk appetite.
Rising concerns over a third wave of the coronavirus
pandemic amid slow vaccine rollouts in Europe hurt oil and
travel companies as investors priced in a longer road to
economic recovery.
Germany extended its lockdown until April 18, and Chancellor
Angela Merkel urged citizens to stay at home for five days over
the Easter holiday.
U.S. crude fell 6.51% to $57.55 per barrel and Brent
was at $60.51, down 6.36% on the day.
Travel-related stocks fell as much as 4%.
"Global travel is still looking like it could be a while
away," said Matt Stanley, a fuel broker at Star Fuels in Dubai,
adding that a second-half recovery in oil demand looked doubtful
as lockdowns remain the order of the day.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed
0.88% following broad declines in Europe and Asia.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell
308.05 points, or 0.94%, to 32,423.15, the S&P 500 lost
30.07 points, or 0.76%, to 3,910.52 and the Nasdaq Composite
dropped 149.85 points, or 1.12%, to 13,227.70.
Benchmark 10-year notes rose 19/32 in price to
yield 1.6153%, from 1.682% late on Monday after Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke
before a congressional hearing.
In remarks prepared before the hearing, Powell said the U.S.
economic recovery had progressed "more quickly than generally
expected."
Republican members of the committee quizzed Yellen on how
the United States can simultaneously be in crisis and healthy
enough to consider raising taxes.
Once employment recovers from the pandemic, "President Biden
is likely to propose that we engage in long-term plans to
address longstanding investment shortfalls... in infrastructure,
investment to address climate risk, investments in people, R&D,
manufacturing," she said. "It is necessary to pay for them."
Steven Ricchiuto, US chief economist at Mizuho Securities
USA, said "Powell seemed to throw his weight toward Democratic"
suggestions that the Federal Reserve include climate risk as
part of their stress test for banks.
"For investors, it means this area of regulation will come
not only from the Treasury and Congress, but also likely the
Fed," he added.
The dollar index rose 0.612%, with the euro
down 0.72% to $1.1845.
Human rights sanctions on China imposed by the United
States, Europe and Britain, which prompted retaliatory sanctions
from Beijing, added to market concerns.
Worries over the pace of the recovery from the pandemic were
also heightened after a U.S. health agency said the AstraZeneca
Plc vaccine developed with Oxford University may have
included outdated information in its data.
Spot gold dropped 0.6% to $1,727.71 an ounce..
(Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jane Merriman,
Bernadette Baum and Dan Grebler)
