GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares scale record peak on upbeat results, dollar eases

* MSCI's all-country world index hits new all-time high
* Nasdaq, S&P 500 also hit new intraday highs
* Fed chair due to speak at Jackson Hole on Thursday
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A gauge of global equity
markets jumped to an all-time peak on Wednesday, after the S&P
500 and Nasdaq rallied to fresh records on upbeat corporate
results, while the dollar eased a day before the Federal Reserve
potentially sets a new course on inflation.
MSCI's all-country world index surged past a pre-COVID high
reached in February as investors drove up technology stocks
after Salesforce.com Inc raised its annual revenue forecast on
surging demand for the company's online business software.
Salesforce, which is slated to join the blue-chip Dow Jones
Industrial Average index on Aug. 31, reflects the reality of the
world we live in, said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD
Ameritrade in Chicago.
"If you look at the stocks that are actually driving the
rally and the companies that everybody is using, it really is a
technology-leading society at this point, especially with
COVID," Kinahan said.
Salesforce shares CRM.N soared 24.1%.
Adding to the upbeat mood was early data from Moderna 's
MRNA.O experimental COVID-19 vaccine which showed it induced
immune responses in older adults that were similar to those for
younger participants. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have hit daily record closing
highs since Friday, driven by demand for tech-focused stocks,
government stimulus and record low interest rates.
Better-than-expected economic data in Europe has lifted
analysts expectations for earnings, driving regional bourses
higher, too. Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt .GDAXI , Paris
.FCHI and London .FTSE closed up 0.98%, 0.80% and 0.14%,
respectively.
The likelihood of a COVID-19 vaccine being introduced in
early 2021 combined with very low interest rates and an outlook
that rates stay low for longer are driving equities higher, said
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA in New York.
"Until we really start to see a worry that interest rates
are likely to start to move higher, I still see growth in
general, tech and consumer discretionary in particular, holding
up very well," he said.
The MSCI index .MIWD00000PUS , a gauge of equity
performance in 49 countries, rose 0.82% to 583.61, passing its
previous record of 581.02.
Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Amazon.com
AMZN.O , Alaphabet Inc's Google GOOGL.O and Facebook Inc
FB.O - account for 12.3% of the benchmark's weighting.
Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed up
0.80%, while on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI rose 0.21%, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.89% and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.43%.
Investors are focused on whether Federal Reserve Chairman
Jerome Powell will hint at shifting the Fed's inflation target
to an average when he addresses the U.S. central bank's policy
framework review at the Jackson Hole symposium on Thursday.
Investors are betting that when he speaks, Powell will
create expectations of more inflation, said Jim Vogel, interest
rate strategist for FHN Financial.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback's value against
a basket of currencies =USD fell 0.053%.
Earlier the index hit a session high of 93.37 after data
showed that U.S. durable goods orders increased more than
expected in July. The euro EUR= fell 0.09% to $1.1822.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury US10YT=RR note rose 0.6 basis
points to 0.6884%.
Euro zone bonds were flat, with safe-haven Bund yields
DE10YT=RR rising a smidgeon after enduring on Tuesday their
biggest daily losses since May as better German economic data
and trade dented hunger for government debt. Oil prices traded little changed, pressured by worries about
the demand outlook during the coronavirus pandemic but buoyed as
U.S. producers shut output in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of
Hurricane Laura.
Producers evacuated 310 offshore facilities and shut 1.56
million barrels per day of crude output, 84% of Gulf of Mexico's
offshore production - near the 90% outage that Hurricane Katrina
brought 15 years ago.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 slid 22 cents to settle at
$45.64 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1 settled up 4 cents at
$43.39 a barrel.
Gold jumped more than 1% as the dollar slipped. U.S. gold
futures GCv1 settled up 1.5% at $1,952.50 an ounce.

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