GLOBAL MARKETS-ECB sends euro higher, stocks pause after week-long rally

(Adds byline, refreshes prices)
* ECB stimulus helps euro, periphery bond spreads
* Dollar struggles to pulls out of recent slide
* Brent crude dips after tops $40 for first time since March

By Herbert Lash and David Randall
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - The euro jumped to a 12-week
high against the dollar on Thursday after another shot of
European Central Bank stimulus to help economies slammed by the
coronavirus pandemic, but world equity markets pulled in the
reins after a strong seven-day run.
The euro rallied for an eighth session after the ECB said it
would increase the size of emergency bond purchases by 600
billion euros ($674 billion) to 1.35 trillion euros, more than
the 500 billion-euro increase analysts had expected.
A huge domestic support package from Germany also lifted the
euro and briefly pushed European equities higher.
The single currency EUR= rose 0.97% to $1.1341 as the
dollar index =USD fell 0.646%.
Italy led a rally in southern European bond markets, with
10-year yields tumbling more than 15 basis points to 1.38%
IT10YT=RR - their lowest since late March.
Spanish, Portuguese and Greek yields also fell, with the gap
between 10-year Italian and benchmark German bond yields at its
tightest since late March at around 170 bps DE10IT10=RR .
ECB policymakers debated expanding their emergency bond
purchases by between 500 billion euros and 750 billion euros
before settling for a compromise figure, three sources told
Reuters. Euro zone banks surged on the European stimulus, but equity
markets slid as investors deemed earlier market optimism over an
economic recovery - which drove the Nasdaq 100 to become the
first U.S. equity index to reclaim its intraday record high set
in February - as excessive.
The NYFANG index that includes the tech heavyweights
Facebook FB.O , Apple AAPL.O , Amazon.com AMZN.O , Netflix
NFLX.O and Alphabet GOOGL. also hit a fresh all-time high,
before both retreated to trade lower.
Money has been moving out of growth stocks into cyclicals,
the economically sensitive companies that have been badly beaten
up, such as airlines, hotels, casinos and financials, said Tim
Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in
New York.
The rally had been driven by hopes the economy will rebound,
which it will, but at different speeds for different industries,
he said.
"There's excessive optimism that everything is going to open
up right way and it's going to be fabulous. There's some
trepidation about that," Ghriskey said.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.10% and the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed down
0.72%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
0.99 points, or -0%, to 26,268.9. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 8.78
points, or 0.28%, to 3,114.09 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
dropped 35.18 points, or 0.36%, to 9,647.74.
U.S. data also weighed on equities as exports dropped by a
record 20.5% in April to a 10-year low.
Goods exports plunged 25.2% to $95.5 billion, the lowest
since September 2009. Exports of motor vehicles and parts fell
to $3.8 billion, the lowest since March 1992. Shipments of
consumer goods dropped to $10.4 billion, the lowest since April
2006.
Market optimism about the post-pandemic recovery has reduced
the dollar's safe-haven appeal, as have widespread protests in
the U.S. following the death of a black man in police custody.
The U.S. currency had began strengthening in overnight
trading, pushing the Japanese yen to a two-month low of 109.150.
JPY=EBS.
The Australian dollar dropped as much as 0.5% to $0.6884
AUD=D3 after retail sales there plunged, although the
country's fourth stimulus package had helped shares gain
.AXJO . Oil prices, which have been on a tear in recent weeks, were
lower as doubts about supply cuts by major producers began to
creep back in. But crude later rebounded. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 rose 0.08% to $37.32 per barrel and Brent
LCOc1 was at $39.89, up 0.25% on the day.
Spot gold XAU= added 1.2% to $1,718.03 an ounce.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>