* AstraZeneca resumes phase-3 trial for coronavirus vaccine
* UK, US, Japan central banks meet this week
* Japan's Suga wins ruling party leadership race
* UK parliament to vote on plan to break Brexit divorce
treaty
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Recasts to reflect shift in sentiment, updates market moves,
adds comment)
By Dhara Ranasinghe
LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - World stocks nudged higher on
Monday on hopes for a coronavirus vaccine after AstraZeneca
resumed its phase-3 trial, but the gains were limited as caution
prevailed before a host of central bank meetings this week.
Sterling, which has been hurt by renewed Brexit turmoil,
firmed before a key vote on British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson's plan to break international law by breaching parts of
the Brexit divorce treaty with the European Union. European stock markets opened higher .STOXX but drifted
back down. U.S. stock futures held firm ESc1 1YMc1 in a
positive sign for the Wall Street open, supported by M&A news.
In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.9% to its highest in almost
a week. Japan's Nikkei .N225 firmed 0.7% after Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yoshihide Suga won a landslide victory in a ruling
party leadership election, paving the way for him to succeed
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L said at the weekend it has
resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of
the most advanced in development, after getting the green light
from safety watchdogs. The World Health Organization reported a record one-day
increase in global coronavirus cases on Sunday, with the total
rising by 307,930 in 24 hours. The biggest increases were from
India, the United States and Brazil. "There is still some caution in markets because U.S. virus
numbers appear to be picking up again in some states," said
Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors.
"The vaccine is positive news but there is a lot of
scepticism about when it comes in and how widely it will be
adopted."
And as the European session wore on, some markets gave up
their gains and turned negative .GDAXI .FTMIB .
Upcoming central bank meetings in the United States, Britain
and Japan added to a sense of caution.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday kicks off a two-day
policy meeting -- the first since unveiling its landmark shift
to a more tolerant stance on inflation last month. The Bank of
Japan and the Bank of England will announce their respective
policy decisions on Thursday.
BREXIT WATCH
In currency markets, sterling bounced off recent 1-1/2 month
lows against the dollar GBP= ahead of a parliamentary debate
on the Internal Market Bill. After the debate, lawmakers will
vote to decide if it should go to the next stage.
Johnson's decision to explicitly break international law has
plunged Brexit back into crisis less than four months before
Britain is finally due to leave the EU's orbit at the end of a
post-Brexit transition period.
"The question will be how many Conservative MPs (members of
parliament) rebel on the matter," said Deutsche Bank strategist
Jim Reid, referring to Johnson's ruling party.
The dollar was a tad weaker at 105.95 yen, JPY= though
still a long distance from its low this year of 101.2. The euro
EUR= was a fifth of a percent firmer at $1.1870.
Turkey's lira hit a fresh record low against the U.S. dollar
TRY= and its dollar-bonds came under pressure after Moody's
cut the country's sovereign rating and warned of the risk of a
balance of payment crisis. Oil prices fell, weighed down in part by Libya signaling it
would end its months-long blockade and resume output, adding yet
more supply to the market.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 0.5% at $39.62 a barrel while
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 slipped
0.6% to $37.11 a barrel.
Gold meanwhile was a touch firmer at XAU= at $1,943.72 per
ounce. GOL/
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