World stock markets slip on second wave virus fears, safe-havens rise

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.14%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.71%, hurt by a plunge in Wirecard shares over missing cash balances.Emerging market stocks lost 0.08%. The Dow Industrials fell but the Nasdaq eked out a fifth straight day of gains and the S&P 500 closed higher after spending much of the session lower

NEW YORK/LONDON: Global stock markets meandered on Thursday as a continued rise in coronavirus cases dashed hopes of a swift recovery from the pandemic-induced economic slump and drove demand for safe-haven currencies such as the dollar and Japanese yen.

Around 400 workers tested positive for the virus at a slaughterhouse in northern Germany, fueling contagion concerns, yet gold prices eased a bit after a Chinese medical expert said Beijing has brought a recent outbreak under control.