* Asian stock markets: tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Coronavirus monitoring: tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
* Asian stocks are falling; CDC warns Americans against virus
* Treasury bill yields remain near record lows
* Dollar left damaged by the recovery of the bond market
* Oil rises in hopes of lower production to support the market
By Stanley White
TOKYO, March 6 (Reuters) – Asian stocks tumbled Friday following another Wall Street rout as global business disruption from the coronavirus beyond China worsened, fueling fears of a slowdown extended global economy.
The largest MSCI Asia Pacific index excluding Japan fell 0.5%. Australian stocks fell 1.86%, while the Japanese Nikkei stock index slipped 1.45%.
Yields on 10-year US Treasuries fell to a record low as investors increased bets as the Federal Reserve will follow this week’s 50 basis point surprise rate cut with further easing to prevent spreads ‘obligations of companies to expand further.
Falling yields hammered the dollar, which traded near a six-month low against the yen and close to a two-year low against the Swiss franc.
Oil prices have risen in the hope that lower production will protect the market from an expected decline in global energy demand.
The spread of a new coronavirus has accelerated so much in Europe, Britain and North America that investors who once minimized the virus are now reassessing the risks, which means more volatility in the financial markets.
“Optimism abroad is fading and now people are really starting to wonder how bad things are,” said Takuya Kanda, director of research at the Gaitame.com Research Institute in Tokyo.
“For some investors, treasury bills are the only place to park their money, but for others, buying the dollar or stocks is out of the question.”
Equity futures in the United States rose 0.43% in Asia on Friday, but did little to lift the mood.
The S&P 500 fell 3.39% on Thursday. The benchmark S&P 500 ended more than 10% down from its closing high on February 19, after recording its largest weekly percentage decline since October 2008.
Authorities and businesses in Britain, France, Italy and the United States are struggling to cope with a steady increase in coronavirus infections which have in some cases triggered business failures, office evacuations and panic purchases for daily necessities.
The flu-like virus appeared at the end of last year in the city of Wuhan in central China. Since then, it has spread to more than 80 countries and killed more than 3,000 people. New infections have slowed in China, but some countries are not ready to worry.
Travel restrictions and plant closings to curb the spread of the virus are expected to put downward pressure on global economic growth.
Many investors expect the release of US non-farm payrolls later Friday. Recent economic data in the United States is solid, but concerns about the epidemic are likely to overshadow any signs of a strong labor market.
The Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada have both responded to economic threats by cutting interest rates by 50 basis points this week.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury bill yield fell to a record low of 0.8980% in Asia on Friday.
Money markets forecast a further 25 basis point decline from the current range of 1% to 1.25% at the next Fed meeting on March 18-19, and a decline of 50 basis points in April.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to its lowest level in six months and was at 106.30 yen. The greenback also sank into a two-year low at 0.9447 Swiss francs.
The British pound traded near a week-long high against the dollar.
The euro eased slightly to $ 1.1215. Eurozone markets expect the European Central Bank to cut its deposit rate, which is now 0.50%, by 10 basis points next week, to be 93% likely.
US crude rose 0.87% to $ 46.3 a barrel. OPEC agreed on Thursday to cut oil production more than expected to support prices that have been affected by the coronavirus epidemic.
Report by Stanley White; Editing by Sam Holmes