* S&P 500, Nasdaq end higher
* Oil prices gain, up for week
* U.S. dollar index higher
(Updates with U.S. markets' closing levels)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Global stock markets rose
slightly on Friday as investors bet on a lull in proliferation
of the coronavirus, while oil prices registered their first
weekly gain since early January.
Wall Street climbed late in the session following a CNBC
report, citing sources, that the White House was considering a
tax incentive for Americans to buy stocks.
Investors were still trying to gauge the economic fallout of
China's coronavirus outbreak, with Chinese health authorities
reporting more than 5,000 new cases on Friday.
"You saw some late program trading," said Rick Meckler,
partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey.
The stock market "has met every attempt to sell it off with more
(buying), and the hope of some of the people buying late is that
the news on the virus would be muted for the three days, and
that with three days' time, there will be just a little less
anxiousness about it."
The U.S. market will be closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
A recent Reuters poll showed the world's second-biggest
economy will grow at its slowest pace in the current quarter
since the financial crisis, but the downturn will be short-lived
if the outbreak is contained. Some investors said they thought the economic impact of the
outbreak would not be as deep as feared, with some also noting
the spread beyond China has not been as rapid as feared.
"Investors are definitely keeping an eye on how much the
coronavirus is spreading and where it spreads to. It still
remains the biggest risk going forward," said Robert Pavlik,
chief investment strategist and senior portfolio manager at
SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.06%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 25.23 points,
or 0.09%, to 29,398.08, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 6.22 points,
or 0.18%, to 3,380.16 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
19.21 points, or 0.2%, to 9,731.18.
Chipmaker Nvidia NVDA.O late Thursday forecast
first-quarter revenue that topped Wall Street expectations.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 0.13%.
Oil prices rose more than1% on the day and posted their
first weekly gain since early January amid hopes demand will
rebound. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 98 cents, or 1.74%, to settle at
$57.32 a barrel. It rose 5.23% since last Friday, its first
weekly increase in six weeks. U.S. crude futures CLc1 gained
63 cents, or 1.23%, to settle at $52.05. The weekly rise was
3.44%.
In currency markets, the dollar index .DXY rose 0.09%,
with the euro EUR= down 0.09% to $1.083.
But concerns about growth in the eurozone are expected to
keep weighing on the single currency. U.S. Treasury yields declined as investors bought
safe-haven government debt ahead of the long holiday weekend
after soft retail sales data.
U.S. Commerce Department data showed U.S. consumer spending
appeared to have slowed further in January, with sales at
clothing stores declining by the most since 2009, which could
raise concerns about the economy's ability to continue its
moderate expansion. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 9/32 in price
to yield 1.5883%, from 1.617% late on Thursday.
In the precious metals market, U.S. gold futures GCcv1
settled up 0.5% at $1,586.40.
For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock
markets, please click on: LIVE/
Stock performance vs. reported coronavirus cases https://tmsnrt.rs/37rQEUu
World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Graphic on coronavirus https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
Emerging markets in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>