* European stocks gain energy from oil prices
* U.S. jobless claims due at 1230 GMT, seen hitting new high
* World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Tom Arnold
LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - World stocks were mixed on
Thursday, as the death toll from coronavirus rose and economic
pain deepened, with another record week of jobless claims
expected in the United States.
Investors sought the safety of the U.S. dollar, which hung
on to recent gains. Oil futures surged after U.S. President
Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach a
deal soon to end their oil price war.
In Japan, the Nikkei index ended down 1.37%, taking
its losses to 25% so far this year. European stocks made
tentative gains, with the pan-European STOXX 600
gaining 0.5%. Wall Street futures added 1.8% after
plunging overnight.
"U.S. jobless claims are expected to surge again, and in
this environment we cannot talk about a recovery in equities in
the short term. The best you can hope for is stabilisation in
the current environment," said Francois Savary, chief investment
officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime Partners.
In Europe, oil and gas stocks gained, with Royal Dutch Shell
, Total SA and BP jumping 4% to 9.0%,
thanks to the rise in oil prices.
Brent crude futures rose 11.0%, or $2.72, to $27.46.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures
increased 10.14% or $2.08, at $22.39.
Trump said he had talked recently with the leaders of both
Russia and Saudi Arabia and believed the two countries would
make a deal within a "few days" to lower production and thereby
bring prices back up.
Shares in British Airways owner IAG added 3.0%
after a person familiar with the matter said British Airways was
in talks with its union about a plan to suspend around 32,000
staff so it can survive the coronavirus pandemic.
Euro zone government bond yields rose as investors
cautiously moved back into riskier assets. The 10-year German
government bond yield rose 4 basis points to -0.426%
, pulling away from the lows of -0.55% touched on
Monday.
The yield on safe-haven 10-year U.S. Treasuries - which
falls when prices rise - fell as far as 0.5680%.
"There had been fears about the bond market blowing up, but
for the time being there's a return to normal correlation in the
market, so we don't see a vicious cycle where bonds bring down
equities and equities brings down bonds," said Savary.
U.S. labour market data is likely to provide the next test
of market sentiment and of the pain in the world's largest
economy.
Initial claims for jobless benefits last week probably broke
the previous week's record of 3.3 million, with 3.5 million
expected, according to a Reuters survey of economists.
Goldman Sachs said on Thursday it expected the U.S. jobless
claims to jump to a record 6 million for March 22-28.
"Jobless claims will be the timeliest hard data point for
assessing the depth of the recession and catching the start of
the recovery," Goldman Sachs economists wrote in a note to
clients.
DIFFICULT DAYS
China and South Korea have shown signs of controlling the
virus, reporting falling numbers of new cases, but progress
remains fragile and infections are soaring globally.
The World Health Organization said the global case count
would reach 1 million and the death toll 50,000 in the next few
days. It currently stands at 46,906.
Trump, who had initially played down the outbreak, told
reporters at the White House on Wednesday that he is considering
a plan to halt flights to coronavirus hot zones in the United
States.
In currency markets, the dollar index against a basket of
six major currencies stood flat at 99.625 after a gain of
0.53% overnight. The euro traded down 0.3% at $1.0934 as the
dollar advanced.
Sterling reached a three-week high versus the euro and
gained against the dollar on Thursday. It was last up 0.9%
versus the euro at 87.81 pence per euro, its highest since March
11.
The Hungarian forint gained after the central bank
used what analysts labelled an "implicit rate hike" to halt the
slide of central Europe's worst-performing currency.
Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,589.71 per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; editing by Philippa
Fletcher, Larry King)
