GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil, stocks gain, but rising infection rates spark concerns

(Adds oil, gold settlement prices)
* Stocks, oil edge higher on recovery hopes
* Gold hits month high on safe-haven bidding
* WHO reports single-day record of COVID cases

By Herbert Lash and David Randall
NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices and a gauge
of global equity markets edged higher on Monday as lockdowns
eased, but sentiment remained tenuous as coronavirus infections
continued to rise.
The dollar fell and higher risk currencies including the
Australian dollar jumped as investors weighed improving economic
data against the prospect of new business shutdowns if a second
wave of the pandemic gains force.
Gold prices climbed 1% to hit the highest in more than a
months as investors took refuge in the safe-haven.
Coronavirus cases are soaring in several major countries,
with "worrying increases" in Latin America, especially Brazil,
the World Health Organization said. More than 183,000 new cases
around the world were reported Sunday, the biggest daily tally
since the outbreak started in December, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus said. The bulls have a lot to prove in terms of further gains in
the absence of continued phenomenally good news in economic
data, said Carlton Neel, chief executive officer of investment
research firm Chaikin Analytics in Philadelphia.
"On one hand, the bulls have made their case for the fact
that the opening up is going much better than expected. Yet the
bears are looking at the number of cases that are starting to
skyrocket," Neel said. "There is a risk to the market that we
have come a long way very quickly."
MSCI's broadest index of shares across the globe has gained
more than 40% since March lows on hopes that the worst of the
pandemic was over. A jump in Germany's infection rate over the
weekend was seen as unlikely to trigger a massive second wave or
new lockdowns. MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.41%.
But emerging market stocks lost 0.06% and the pan-European STOXX
600 index .STOXX closed down 0.76% on signs of a resurgence in
coronavirus cases in Germany.
The reproduction rate in Germany jumped to 2.88 on Sunday,
taking infections above the level needed to contain it over the
longer term. The number was a sharp increase from 1.06 on
Friday, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The number of patients in U.S. hospitals being treated for
COVID-19 has been on a consistent decline since its peak in
April, dropping to less than 30,000 from more than double that
two months ago, wealth manager Glenmede said in a note.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
177.12 points, or 0.68%, to 26,048.58. The S&P 500 .SPX gained
22.14 points, or 0.71%, to 3,119.88 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 105.65 points, or 1.06%, to 10,051.78.
Investors edged into perceived safe-haven assets like U.S.
government bonds. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes
US10YT=RR rose 0.5 basis points to yield 0.7085%.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.664%, with the euro EUR= up
0.75% to $1.1259. The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.04%
versus the greenback at 106.94 per dollar.
Credit rating agency Moody's warned that the stimulus
measures will leave advanced economies with much higher debt
than they accumulated during the last financial crisis.
"Government debt/GDP ratios will rise by around 19
percentage points, nearly twice as much as in 2009 during the
(global financial crisis)... the rise in debt burdens will be
more immediate and pervasive, reflecting the acuteness and
breadth of the shock posed by the coronavirus," Moody's said.
Oil rose about 2% on tighter supplies from major producers
and as coronavirus lockdowns continued to ease, but gains were
capped by worries that a worldwide rise in new infections might
stall a fuel demand recovery.
Brent oil futures LCOc1 , the international benchmark, rose
89 cents to settle at $43.08 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1
settled up 71 cents at $40.46.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled 0.8% higher at $1,766.40 an
ounce.

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