(Adds gold, oil settlement prices, comment)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - Global stocks edged higher on
Wednesday as recovery hopes overcame fears that a surge in
coronavirus cases would slow the U.S. economy, but many
investors still sought out safe havens on the pandemic worries,
driving gold prices above $1,800 an ounce for the first time
since 2011.
Stocks on Wall Street rose, boosted by technology shares,
while demand for the dollar, a traditional safe harbor, slid
even as the number of confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed
3 million. Still, demand for the dollar proved remarkably stable
given Wall Street's strength.
"Investors, particularly in the U.S., are still comfortable
with the idea of buying secular growth or buying select
companies that they think will continue to thrive in a low-
consumption economy," said Yousef Abbasi, global market
strategist at StoneX Group Inc in New York.
He noted that while materials, industrial and bank stocks
were lower, other sectors were delivering gains.
"If you're in an industry where your focus is in technology,
such as enterprise software or e-commerce, providing the
backbone for those businesses, you've been rewarded hand over
fist," Abbasi said.
The Nasdaq was poised to finish at a record closing high.
Investor sentiment remains tenuous as the pandemic resurges
in the United States and elsewhere. Oil prices were steady as
rising U.S. crude inventories and the coronavirus surge put the
brakes on a recent recovery.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , a gauge of
equity markets in 49 nations, rose 0.39%, and its emerging
markets index .MSCIEF jumped 1.72% as investors continue to
pour into Chinese equities.
"There is certainly a rush from retail to buy Chinese
stocks," Abbasi said. "Trading volumes are eclipsing their
normal levels."
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX closed down 0.67% as
investors assessed the risk of more restrictive social
distancing measures in some places and upcoming quarterly
earnings reports.
Analysts expect companies listed on the STOXX 600 to report
a 53.9% decline in profit in the second quarter, according to
Refinitiv data.
London-listed HSBC HSBA.L shed 3.4% after Bloomberg
reported U.S. President Donald Trump's top advisers had weighed
proposals to undermine the Hong Kong currency's peg to the
dollar, which could limit access to the greenback by Hong Kong
banks. "It is impossible for investors not to grow weary and
eventually, at some point, fall prey to the endless drip of
negative COVID-19 stories and how the second-wave virus will
crush the market," said Stephen Innes, chief global market
strategist at AxiCorp.
The economy would likely suffer as some U.S. states reimpose
coronavirus-related restrictions, but another nationwide
shutdown would be "a big mistake," White House economic adviser
Larry Kudlow said. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
0.29%, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.41% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 1.04%.
In China, stocks extended their gains to seven sessions,
with the blue-chip index .CSI300 up 1.6% to its highest close
since June 2015.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.1%, just off the prior day's
four-and-a-half-month high.
Coronavirus cases were also on the rise in the Australian
state of Victoria, which led to lockdown measures being
re-imposed in Melbourne, the country's second-biggest city.
Bond markets were focused on a meeting on Wednesday of
European Union officials to discuss the shape of the EU's
recovery fund.
Yields on German 10-year government debt DE10YT=RR were
unchanged at -0.441%, just above a one-week low of -0.495%.
The dollar index =USD , which tracks the greenback versus a
basket of six currencies, fell 0.46% to 96.431. The euro EUR=
was up 0.57% while the yen JPY= was down 0.29% at $107.2000.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.79% to $1,808.51 an ounce. U.S. gold
futures GCv1 settled 0.6% higher at $1,820.60 an ounce.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 21 cents to settle at
$43.29 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures CLc1 settled up 28
cents at $40.90 a barrel.
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World's biggest stock markets since start of 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/38wlrSj
New COVID-19 cases: U.S. vs. select European countries https://tmsnrt.rs/3gC8Tvq
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