NEW YORK Global equity benchmarks edged higher on Friday as investors weighed a slight gain in oil against concerns that further stimulus measures by the European Union to combat the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic could be delayed until next year. Safe-haven assets such as the dollar and government bonds were flat, reflecting the market’s unsettled direction. MSCI’s All Country World Index gained 0.18% following modest declines in Asia and Europe. The index is on pace for its worst weekly performance since March. Equity markets gave up their gains on Thursday after a report that Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir had failed to help severely ill COVID-19 patients in its first clinical trial. “Any piece of bad news is likely to rattle the market,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at New York-based wealth management firm Inverness Counsel. “Investors are keen for a semblance of hope that they can soon crawl out of their homes and get on with some form of normal life, even if with trepidation and fear.”—Reuters
