(Updates through midday U.S. trading)
By David Randall
NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - World equity benchmarks rose
along with safe haven assets such as gold and U.S. Treasury
bonds on Thursday as hopes for a vaccine-led economic recovery
offset warnings the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic
could spike in the coming weeks.
Stocks have raced to global record peaks over the last four
weeks, pushing the dollar down to 2 1/2-year lows, following the
announcement of three viable vaccines.
Britain will begin inoculations next week, while the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration will hold its own advisory
committee meeting next week that could determine when treatments
are approved for use in the country. New York Governor Andrew
Cuomo has said the state's first vaccine delivery, enough for
170,000 residents, is expected on Dec. 15.
"Markets have pulled forward and bridged the gap between
where we were pre-vaccine and where we are going to be when
everyone has got the shot," said Ned Rumpeltin, European head of
currency strategy at TD Securities.
"It puts a floor under the long-term risks, but there are
plenty of short-term ones in the interim that we need to sort
out," Rumpeltin said.
The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention warned Wednesday that the months of December,
January, and February will be "the most difficult time in the
public health history of this nation."
The mayor of Los Angeles, meanwhile, imposed sweeping new
economic restrictions on Wednesday and said that "our City is
now close to a devastating tipping point."
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.50% following broad gains in Asia and mixed trading in
Europe.
In midday trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI rose 166.96 points, or 0.56%, to 30,050.75, the
S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.05 points, or 0.22%, to 3,677.06 and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 61.51 points, or 0.5%, to
12,410.87.
Investors continued to look for signs that a stimulus deal
could be reached in the U.S. to boost the economy until vaccines
are widely available. The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless
claims decreased to a seasonally adjusted 712,000 for the week
ended Nov. 28. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 775,000
applications for the latest week.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 9/32 in price
to yield 0.9178%, from 0.946% late Wednesday. The dollar index
=USD fell 0.426%, with the euro EUR= up 0.28% to $1.2149.
"Currency investors are taking on more risk following the
latest vaccine breakthroughs," Morgan Stanley said in a note.
Oil prices slipped on Thursday as producers including Saudi
Arabia and Russia locked horns over the need to extend record
production cuts set in place in the first wave of the COVID-19
pandemic. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 recently fell 0.04% to $45.26 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $48.56, up 0.64% on the day.
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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
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