(Adds U.S. market open, byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
* Microsoft hits record high, S&P 500 close to new high
* Oil futures rise as geopolitical risks after Saudi attack
remain
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A gauge of global equity
performance rose Thursday within 1% of a record high a day after
the Federal Reserve cut interest rates but crude prices jumped
on concerns the weekend attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities
pose supply risks.
Iran warned U.S. President Donald Trump against being
dragged into all-out war in the Middle East after the attack on
Saudi oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on
Tehran. The attack knocked out about half of Saudi crude production
and severely limited the country's spare capacity, a cushion for
global oil markets if an outage occurs.
"Global available spare capacity is extremely low at present
following the weekend attacks, leaving little room for
additional outages, which tends to be price supportive," UBS oil
analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 , the global benchmark, gained 95
cents to $64.55 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate
crude CLc1 rose 31 cents at $58.42 a barrel.
European banking shares .SX7P rose 1.8% and the Swiss
franc CHF= was poised for its biggest gain in a month after
the Swiss National Bank declined to match the European Central
Bank and the Fed in easing monetary policy.
The pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 of leading
European shares closed up 0.64%, while MSCI's gauge of stocks
across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.35%.
Gains in Microsoft Corp MSFT.O shares pushed the S&P 500
.SPX , the U.S. equity benchmark, within 10 points of its
record high while a rally in bank stocks lifted European shares
after the Fed set a higher bar for further rate reductions on
Wednesday.
Microsoft, the biggest U.S. stock by market cap, valued at
$1.08 trillion, hit $142.37 and was trading about 2% higher on
the day. The S&P 500 traded just below its record of 3027.98 set
in July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 107.61 points,
or 0.4%, to 27,254.69. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 13.75 points,
or 0.46%, to 3,020.48 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
53.26 points, or 0.65%, to 8,230.65.
The U.S. dollar fell against the euro, the Swiss franc and
the Japanese yen after the Fed cut rates by 25 basis points on
Wednesday to provide insurance against the risk of weaker global
growth and resurgent U.S-China trade tensions.
The dollar index .DXY fell 0.19% and the euro EUR= rose
0.15% to $1.1045. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.42% versus the
greenback at 108.02 per dollar.
U.S. Treasury yields fell after division appeared among
policymakers on whether the Fed would cut rates further and as
pressures in the short-term funding markets eased.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR slipped 1/32 in price to
lift their yield to 1.7857%.
Bank of Japan negative interest rates https://tmsnrt.rs/31gPRDp
Countries that spend biggest share of money on oil png https://tmsnrt.rs/31tPuFW
GRAPHIC-Global assets in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
GRAPHIC-World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
GRAPHIC-MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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