(Updates through afternoon U.S. trading)
By David Randall
NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Investors rushed into the safety of U.S. government bonds on Wednesday, muting a broad stocks rally as fears of a global recession grew.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR fell to their lowest levels since October 2016, and gold soared to a six-year high, while riskier assets like stocks and oil dived.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI opened more than 500 points lower, helping erase gains in European shares, before paring some losses.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.09%.
"Bonds are being bought in a panic mode," said Andrew Brenner, managing director at National Alliance Capital Markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 58.02 points, or 0.22%, to 25,971.5, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.2 points, or 0.04%, to 2,880.57 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 15.75 points, or 0.2%, to 7,849.01. .N
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.24%. .EU
U.S. shares had gained overnight after President Donald Trump downplayed worries of a lengthy trade war and senior adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump's administration was planning to host a Chinese delegation for talks in September Wall Street futures gauges also rose.
The U.S. administration's remarks marked a shift in tone from recent days, when Beijing warned that Washington's labeling China as a currency manipulator would have severe consequences for the global financial order. The U.S. move rattled financial markets and dimmed hopes the trade war was ending.
Since then, China's state banks have been active in the onshore yuan forwards market, tightening dollar supply and supporting the Chinese currency, sources told Reuters. that support, the yuan still dropped 0.2% to 7.0708 in offshore markets CNH=EBS , with currency markets still on edge after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set its official reference rate at an 11-year low. had a little bit of recovery yesterday, but this morning we are seeing that stalling due to the PBOC fixing the dollar-yen higher again," said Thu Lan Nguyen, FX strategist at Commerzbank (DE:CBKG).
The skittish mood was underlined by continuing demand for currencies and commodities considered safe havens.
Gold touched a six-year high of $1,489.76 per ounce XAU= . The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 106.26 JPY=EBS , although that was still some way from levels on Monday, when the trade war's escalation panicked investors. rush to the yen was also fueled by a 2% slump in the New Zealand dollar after its central bank made an aggressive interest rate cut and said negative rates were possible, promoting bets on further policy easing around the world.
Central banks, looking to rev up growth and fight low inflation rates, have turned increasingly dovish in recent months.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 14/32 in price to yield 1.692%, from 1.739% late on Tuesday, after touching earlier lows. Wednesday's trough marked their lowest yield since 2016, as investors bet on another Federal Reserve rate cut in September. 10-year bond yield fell to record lows deep in negative territory as the bigger-than-expected Kiwi interest rate cut and weak German economic data fueled the rally in bond markets. industrial output fell more than expected in June, adding to signs that Europe's biggest economy contracted in the second quarter as its exporters were caught up in trade disputes. commodity markets, oil prices slipped to near seven-month lows, with the potential for damage to the global economy and dampened demand from the Sino-U.S. trade dispute casting a shadow over the market. benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 3.2% to $57.03 a barrel, while U.S. crude dropped 3.7% to $51.65.
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http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Emerging markets in 2019
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap
http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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