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Stocks fall from 20-month highs on trade talk concerns

Published 2019-10-31, 03:36 p/m
© Reuters.  GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks fall from 20-month highs on trade talk concerns
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* Report stirs doubts on U.S.-China trade deal

* Dollar eases after Fed cuts interest rates

* U.S. Treasuries, euro zone bond yields fall

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK, Oct 31 (Reuters) - World stock markets slid from 20-month highs on Thursday as uncertainty about a potential U.S.-China trade deal offset strong results from Apple and Facebook, while the dollar eased as investors mulled whether the Federal Reserve will cut rates further.

Chinese officials have doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term trade deal with Washington and U.S. President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported, citing unidentified sources. trade spat between the world's largest economies has been a major focal point for investors as it has disrupted supply chains and roiled financial markets for more than a year.

MSCI's gauge of equity performance in 47 countries .MIWD00000PUS slid 0.42% from highs last reached in February 2018.

The dollar fell to a 10-day low against a basket of major currencies after the Fed cut rates on Wednesday.

The Fed lowered its policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a target range of 1.50% to 1.75%.

Investors remain concerned about a U.S. slowdown as the trade war continues, which could force the Fed's hand.

"If things were to go negative, they are more likely to ease than raise interest rates," said Steven Wieting, chief economist and investment strategist at Citi Private Bank in New York.

However, the underlying story has been the U.S. economy's ability to outlast the downturn in manufacturing output, a development that recently has been underrated by the market, he said.

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"It has further to go; just the fact we can absorb the shocks that we have," Wieting said. "Production is going to go from declining to rebounding. That's what is going to happen with earnings as well."

European stocks fell. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 0.49% and the FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of leading regional shares fell 0.57%.

The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX was on pace for its biggest drop in nearly three weeks, after notching intraday record highs in the past three sessions.

Corporate earnings were a bright spot. Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 1.8% after the iPhone maker forecast sales for the holiday shopping quarter ahead of expectations. Inc FB.O gained 2.6% after reporting an uptick in users in lucrative markets and its third straight rise in quarterly sales growth. Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 206.87 points, or 0.76%, to 26,979.82. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 14.87 points, or 0.49%, to 3,031.9 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 25.08 points, or 0.3%, to 8,278.89.

MSCI's emerging market index .MSCIEF slid 0.16%.

The dollar index .DXY fell 0.27%, with the euro EUR= down 0.07% to $1.1140. The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.62% versus the greenback at 108.19 per dollar.

Euro zone bond yields fell to two-week lows, on track for their sharpest daily fall in October after the Fed cut interest rates on Wednesday and as the report on U.S.-China trade tensions drove demand for safe-haven assets.

Yields on Germany's benchmark 10-year bund DE10YT=RR fell to a low of -0.42% and were set for their biggest daily fall in October, the same as most other euro zone government bonds.

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The price of benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR rose 29/32 to push its yield down to 1.6927%.

Oil prices fell sharply after a leak on a key U.S. pipeline disrupted supply flows and on data showing weak factory activity in China, suggesting slowing global demand.

TC Energy Corp's TRP.TO Marketlink crude pipeline was operating at reduced rates, three sources said, due to supply disruptions after TC Energy shut its Keystone pipeline due to a leak in North Dakota. said the Marketlink disruption pressured U.S. crude prices lower by making it harder to move oil out of the Cushing storage hub, the delivery point for WTI crude contracts.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled down 38 cents to $60.23 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fell 88 cents to settle at $54.18 a barrel.

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