GLOBAL MARKETS-Equities, oil rally in anticipation of more U.S. stimulus spending

(Updates through midday U.S. trading)
By David Randall
NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Global equity benchmarks jumped
and safe havens such as the dollar and U.S. Treasury bonds
dipped on Tuesday as Janet Yellen used her Treasury secretary
confirmation hearing to bolster the case for additional fiscal
stimulus.
The move would aim to mend the economic damage inflicted by
the coronavirus pandemic on the world's largest economy.
Risk assets such as oil and emerging market stocks also
rallied.
Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee that the government
must "act big" with its next coronavirus relief package.
"A strong (stimulus) package would psychologically lift the
mood of the investor and a good many consumers are going to go
out and spend," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at
Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS rose
0.67% following broad gains in Asia and Europe.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.5% to a record high. Data on Monday confirmed that China, the world's second
largest economy, was one of the few to grow during 2020 and
actually gathered pace as the year drew to a close. In midday trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI rose 131.1 points, or 0.43%, to 30,945.36, the
S&P 500 .SPX gained 22.13 points, or 0.59%, to 3,790.38 and
the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 114.97 points, or 0.88%, to
13,113.47.
Despite the risk-on mood on Tuesday, some dealers were wary
before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday,
fearing more far-right mob violence.
Wall Street is also bracing for tougher regulations now that
the Democrats control the Senate, with Biden set to nominate two
consumer champions to top financial agencies. In foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar slipped from
close to its highest in nearly a month as caution set in before
Yellen's testimony, where she reaffirmed a commitment to a
market-determined exchange rate.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.3%, with the euro EUR= up
0.4% to $1.2124 after touching a six-week low of $1.2052 in the
previous session.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR pared earlier losses,
yielding 1.097%.
Spot gold XAU= added 0.3% to $1,841.51 an ounce.
Optimism that government stimulus will buoy global economic
growth and oil demand lifted crude oil prices. U.S. crude CLc1
rose 1.07% to $52.92 per barrel and Brent LCOc1 was at $55.90,
up 2.1% 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 World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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