(Adds close of U.S. markets)
* Stocks slip on doubts about COVID clinical trials
* Euro gains on Franco-German 500 euro fund plan
* WTI rallies on growing demand as lockdowns ease
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - The euro and European government debt rallied on Tuesday, lifted by a Franco-German proposal to fund grants for regions hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, while oil traded mostly higher on growing demand as countries eased business lockdowns.
A gauge of global equity markets retreated late in the session after Wall Street skidded on a report from medical news website STAT that said Moderna Inc MRNA.O did not provide enough critical data to assess its potential COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna shares closed down 10.4% after surging 20% on Monday when it said a small-early stage trial showed promising results, news that rallied equity markets around the world.
Gold prices rose as some investors sought the safe-haven asset on recession fears after a 30.2% decline in U.S. housing starts in April, the biggest percentage drop on record. for future construction tumbled, adding to data showing the pandemic will drive the deepest U.S. economic contraction in the second quarter since the Great Depression.
The euro EUR= rose 0.05% to $1.0918, paring gains on the Franco-German plan for a 500 billion euro European Union recovery fund was announced on Monday. Franco-German proposal represents a material step forward towards harnessing joint fiscal capacity to provide sustained fiscal stimulus to support the economic recovery," said Lee Hardman, currency analyst at MUFG.
Spanish and Portuguese government bond yields fell after a big drop in Italian yields on Monday.
Europe's STOXX 600 index .STOXX slipped 0.61% after the worldwide surge in equity markets on Monday. But MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed 0.21%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 390.51 points, or 1.59%, to 24,206.86. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 30.97 points, or 1.05%, to 2,922.94 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 49.72 points, or 0.54%, to 9,185.10.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told U.S. lawmakers that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in March was "critical" to the Fed's ability to expand credit to offset the economic blow from the coronavirus.
U.S. Treasury yields were lower. The benchmark 10-year US10YT=RR yield slid 4.9 basis points to 0.6931%.
Crude oil prices traded higher most of the session but Brent eased toward the end.
U.S. crude CLc1 rose 68 cents to settle at $32.50 a barrel, while Brent LCOc1 fell 16 cents to settle at $34.65 a barrel.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled 0.6% higher at $1,745.60 an ounce.
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https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html Global markets YTD and QTD
https://tmsnrt.rs/3bMlEAP
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