REFILE-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks open higher as Fed's Powell nixes inflation fears

(Corrects to add dropped word in headline)
* Fed chair again eases concerns about inflation
* Yield on 10-year Treasury jumps to 1.435%
* Dow hits record high, big tech still losers
* GameStop doubles in price in frenzy trade
* Reuters Live Markets blog: LIVE/

By Echo Wang
MIAMI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks perked up on Thursday
after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed
interest rates would stay low, calming market fears that higher
inflation might prompt the central bank to tighten the monetary
spigot.
"The dovish influence from the Fed is going to continue to
resonate over in Asia. That's really good for emerging market
assets when we've got a really good impulse from the Fed," said
Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO rose 0.90% in early trade
while Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225 added 1.37%. Hong Kong's Hang
Seng index futures .HSI HSIc1 rose 0.92%.
In a second day of testimony in Washington, Powell
reiterated the Fed's promise to get the U.S. economy back to
full employment and to not worry about inflation unless prices
rose in a persistent and troubling way. Crude oil climbed to fresh 13-month highs after U.S.
government data showed a drop in crude output as a deep freeze
disrupted production last week.
Gold prices struggled for traction as elevated Treasury
yields eroded the allure of bullion as an inflation hedge.
The dollar hit fresh three-year lows against the pound and
commodity-linked currencies including the Canadian, Australian
and New Zealand dollars, which are expected to benefit from a
pick-up in global trade as growth rebounds.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.12%, as rising stocks on Wall Street pushed the global
benchmark to reverse early losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI set a record high
rising 1.35% to 31,961.86 while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.14%.
The Nasdaq index, which fell as much as 1.3% earlier in the
session, regained its footing by early afternoon and closed up
0.99%.
Shares of GameStop Corp GME.N , at the center of a volatile
retail trading frenzy moves in late January, more than doubled
in price in late trading and continued to soar in heavy,
post-market trade.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday
Johnson & Johnson's one-dose COVID-19 vaccine appeared safe and
effective in trials, paving the way for its approval for
emergency use as soon as this week.
Johnson & Johnson rose 1.3% following the news, seen as
another boost to a strong recovery.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.083%, with the euro EUR= up
0.02% to $1.2167. The Japanese yen weakened 0.03% versus the
greenback at 105.91 per dollar.
Oil prices rose after U.S. government data showed a drop in
crude output as a deep freeze disrupted production last week.
U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 0.3% to $63.41 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $67.31, up 2.97% on the day.
Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.1% to $1,802.72 an ounce. U.S.
gold futures GCc1 gained 0.30% to $1,802.00 an ounce.

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Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
Up and away: global bond yields on the rise https://tmsnrt.rs/3kesTqW
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