GLOBAL MARKETS-Global stocks hit record after U.S. inflation data

(Adds close of U.S. markets)
* Market 'yawns' at jump in consumer price index
* Treasury yields ease, lifting tech stocks
* Bitcoin sets record high
* China imports rise at fastest pace in 4 years
* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - A gauge of global equity
markets rose to record highs on Tuesday, led by surging
technology-related stocks, as Treasury bond yields eased after
U.S. consumer price data for March showed the pace of inflation
was not rising wildly.
The consumer price index rose 0.6%, the biggest increase
since August 2012, as rising vaccinations and fiscal stimulus
unleashed pent-up demand. But the data is unlikely to change
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's view that higher inflation
in coming months will be transitory. "We're just going to have a temporary flame-up in prices but
there will not be any structural inflation that's here to stay,"
said Carlo Franchini, head of institutional clients at Banca
Ifigest SpA in Milan. "Fed comments continue to be
conciliatory."
The dollar fell and gold prices, a traditional inflation
hedge, rebounded from their lowest in more than a week. Equity
markets took the data in stride, especially technology-heavy
indexes whose stocks can be affected by rising debt costs.
MSCI's gauge of equity performance in 50 countries
.MIWD00000PUS advanced 0.34% to an all-time peak, led by gains
in Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Amazon.com
Inc AMZN.O , the top three holdings of the benchmark index.
Apple rose 2.4%, Microsoft 1.0% and Amazon 0.6%.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.33% as it also
set intra-day and record closing highs, while the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC added 1.05%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI fell 0.2%.
Johnson & Johnson's shares JNJ.N slid 1.34% after U.S.
federal health agencies recommended pausing the rollout of its
COVID-19 vaccine for at least a few days, raising fears of the
recovery's setback after six women developed rare blood clots.
In Europe, the pan-regional STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed
up 0.12%, with luxury .SXQP and other consumer stocks .SXRP
leading gains, followed by technology stocks .SX8P .
Asian stocks overnight gained support on China trade data
that showed exports in dollar terms rose more that 30% in March
from a year earlier, short of expectations. Imports jumped 38%,
the fastest pace in four years, suggesting a post-pandemic
recovery in Chinese spending. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS gave up most of its gains and closed up 0.1%.
China's blue-chip index .CSI300 fell 0.2%.
Treasury yields are being influenced by increased foreign
demand while low bond yields and the cost of debt will buoy
higher-risk equity assets, said Steven Oh, global head
of credit and fixed income at PineBridge Investments.
"The Treasury market reaction (to CPI) was effectively a
collective yawn in continuing the trend that in the near term,
market yields are largely unrelated to economic data," Oh said.
"Inflation and economic data matters in determining Treasury
yields, but it's been and will be a secondary factor for now."
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR fell 5.6 basis points to
yield 1.6198%, well below a 14-month high of 1.776% hit March
30. The yield curve flattened further after the last of this
week's auctions - $24 billion of 30-year bonds - was met with
solid demand, a result analysts at Jefferies called "fabulous."
The dollar briefly spiked on the CPI data before reversing
course and dipping to three-week lows after surging to
multi-month peaks in March as markets anticipated fiscal
stimulus would spur faster U.S. economic growth and higher
inflation.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.29%, with the euro EUR= up
0.33% to $1.1948. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.31% versus the
greenback at 109.05 per dollar.
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said on Monday the U.S.
economy could see a significant rebound this year due to looser
money and fiscal policy but the job market still faced weakness.
With inflation still below the Fed's 2% target rate, the
current "highly accommodative" monetary policy remained
appropriate, he said. Bitcoin BTC=BTSP hit a record of $63,769, extending its
2021 rally to new heights a day before the listing of Coinbase
shares in the United States. U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled up 0.9% at $1,747.6 an
ounce
Oil prices rose on the strong Chinese import data. But the
rally was capped by concerns that pauses on the J&J vaccine
could delay the economic recovery and limit oil demand growth.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 39 cents to settle at
$63.67 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1 settled up 48 cents
at $60.18 a barrel.

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Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
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