GLOBAL MARKETS-Equities edge higher, bonds stable after Chinese stocks rally

By David Randall
NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Global equities edged higher
and perceived safe havens such as U.S. Treasuries gained Monday
as investors weighed further financial stimulus in China against
tightening economic restrictions in Italy after a resurgence of
coronavirus cases among young people.
Chinese blue chips .CSI300 led the way with gains of 2.35%
as the country's central bank provided more medium-term loans to
the financial system. Beijing also
granted a patent for a CanSino Biologics 6185.HK COVID-19
vaccine candidate, Ad5-nCOV. Coronavirus cases in Italy have doubled over the past two
weeks, prompting the country to reimpose restrictions on bars
and nightclubs. Rabobank strategist Bas Van Geffen said the past few months
had seen optimism build about a strong economic bounce-back, but
the reimposition of restrictions was an indication of
challenges.
"We have already cautioned that this is not going to be a V-
shaped recovery ... and perhaps this is a sort of a sign to the
markets that it is not going to be (a quick recovery)", Van
Geffen said.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.42% following broad rallies in Asia and slight gains in
Europe.
In morning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI fell 73.85 points, or 0.26%, to 27,857.17, the
S&P 500 .SPX gained 9.25 points, or 0.27%, to 3,382.1 and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 94.49 points, or 0.86%, to
11,113.79.
The U.S. second-quarter earnings season wraps up with major
retailers reporting this week including Walmart WMT.N , Home
Depot HD.N and Kohls KSS.N .
Sino-American relations remain a sticking point with U.S.
President Donald Trump on Saturday saying he could exert
pressure on more Chinese companies such as technology major
Alibaba BABA.N after he moved to ban TikTok. Investors are looking ahead to Wednesday, when the Federal
Reserve will release minutes from its latest policy meeting.
"Market participants will be looking for insight into the
details and exact timing of when the Fed's Monetary Policy
Review will be completed, and also for more clarity with respect
to the potential timing and structure of any changes to forward
guidance," analysts at NatWest Markets noted.
Speculation is rife that the Fed will adopt an average
inflation target, which would seek to push inflation above 2%
for some time to make up for the years it has run below that
level.
That combined with massive new debt supply caused a sharp
increase in longer-term bond yields last week, with 30-year
yields US30YT=RR rising 21 basis points as the curve
steepened.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 5/32 in price
to yield 0.6931%, from 0.709% late on Friday, while the dollar
index =USD fell 0.244%, with the euro EUR= up 0.32% to
$1.1879.
U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 1.14% to $42.49 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $44.96, up 0.36% on the day

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>