GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rally on strong earnings, oil gains

(Adds fresh prices)
* MSCI's all-country world index gains 0.49%
* Silver rebounds, Brent crude prices at 11-month high

By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Global equities rose on
Wednesday, lifted by strong results from Alphabet Inc and upbeat
earnings in Europe, while oil prices advanced more than 2% to
their highest levels in nearly a year on a growth outlook
bolstered by stimulus hopes.
Silver regained some ground following a sharp retreat from a
near eight-year peak that was scaled with the help of a social
media-inspired buying frenzy. Silver rose 1.01% to $26.88 on
bets for a pick-up in industrial demand.
Videogame retailer GameStop Corp GME.N rose 11.12% to
$100.01, clawing back ground after plunging from a peak of $483
last week. The retail investors' push-back on the shorting by hedge
funds of GameStop and other stocks has caused soul-searching as
investors reposition portfolios, said Tim Ghriskey, chief
investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.
"We are in earnings season and that means volatility in
individual securities, both on the positive side and negative
side," Ghriskey said. "Sometimes that surprises people."
MSCI's benchmark for global equity markets .MIWD00000PUS
rose 0.5% to 664.3, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index
.FTEU3 closed up 0.31% at 1,567.25.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
flat, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.35% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 0.5%.
Alphabet GOOGL.O , parent of Google, rose 11.12% to $100.01
following its strong quarterly results and helped push the
communication services index .SPLRCL to an all-time high.
In Europe, Daimler DAIGn.DE was the top boost to the
pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX after unveiling plans to
spin-off its trucks business, rising 8.9%.
Germany's DAX .GDAXI index rose 0.7% to hit its highest in
two weeks.
The prospect of Mario Draghi, the former European Central
Bank chief, becoming prime minister in Italy added to the cheer
in Europe.
The dollar's rebound slowed, with the euro and Japanese yen
holding near widely watched levels as foreign exchange markets
looked for clues to their next move, possibly from the U.S. jobs
report on Friday.
The dollar index =USD rose 0.033%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.13% to $1.2026.
The Japanese yen JPY= weakened 0.05% versus the greenback
at 105.02 per dollar.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles USOILC=ECI fell last week to
475.7 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration
said, their lowest since March. Refiner utilization rates
USOIRU=ECI , meanwhile, rose by 0.6 percentage points.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose $1.22 to $58.68 a barrel.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 gained $1.23 to $55.99 a barrel.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury US10YT=RR note rose about 2
basis points to 1.1306%.

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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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