GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks advance, dollar gains as tech shines through macro clouds

(Adds U.S. market close)
* Apple surpasses Saudi Aramco (SE:2222) as most valuable public
company
* Euro posts best month since September 2010, hits 2-year
high
* Silver posts best month since 1982
*
*

By Lawrence Delevingne and Herbert Lash
BOSTON/NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - Strong earnings from
U.S. technology firms drove Wall Street higher but shares in
Europe slid on Friday on doubts about the economic recovery from
the coronavirus pandemic, while the dollar rose but still posted
its worst month in a decade.
Oil prices gained, benefiting from news that U.S. output
cuts in May were the largest on record, while gold hovered near
its all-time peak, helped by dollar weakness and dire economic
numbers from far and wide that sparked a rush to safety.
The dollar has been weakening amid expectations the U.S.
Federal Reserve will be forced to maintain its ultra-loose
monetary policy for years, a policy seen as debasing the
currency.
Energy stocks fell sharply after Chevron Corp CVX.N
reported an $8.3 billion loss on asset writedowns and ExxonMobil
Corp XOM.N recorded a second consecutive quarterly loss.
Apple Inc AAPL.O shares surged to a record closing high of
$425, a gain of 10.5% on the day, after blowout quarterly
results on Thursday and a four-for-one stock split announcement.
The surge led the iPhone maker to overtake Saudi Aramco as the
world's most valuable publicly listed company. Gains by Amazon.com AMZN.O and Facebook Inc FB.O also
helped lift Wall Street indices out of early losses following
impressive quarterly results. "The rally at the end of the day was built on this
insatiable demand for these growth companies that have been
reporting earnings off the charts. It's fear of being left
behind," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at
Inverness Counsel in New York.
MSCI's world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks
shares in 49 nations, was unchanged at 551.89, weighed down by
European stocks, which posted their first monthly decline since
a market sell-off in March on growing recovery doubts.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
114.67 points, or 0.44%, to end at 26,428.32, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 24.9 points, or 0.77%, to 3,271.12 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC added 157.46 points, or 1.49%, to 10,745.28.
The dollar index .DXY , which tracks the greenback versus a
basket of six currencies, rose 0.446 point, or 0.48 percent, to
93.467.
The euro reached its highest in more than two years, and
posted its best month since September 2010, raising concerns
that its relative strength could crimp European
exporters. U.S. government negotiations over another coronavirus relief
bill were not yet on a path toward a deal, U.S. House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday. She spoke
just before the expiration of a federal unemployment benefit
that has been an essential lifeline for millions of
Americans. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR slid 0.8
basis point to yield 0.5331%.
Global funds recommended cutting equity holdings in July to
the lowest in four years and suggested keeping bond allocations
unchanged from June, a Reuters poll showed. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX gave up early
gains to close down 0.9%, pressured by a weak open on Wall
Street.
The euro zone's economy recorded its deepest contraction on
record in the second quarter, preliminary estimates showed on
Friday, while the bloc's inflation unexpectedly ticked up in
July. Those figures overshadowed positive manufacturing data from
China and Japan. MSCI's broadest index of Asian shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei .N225 dropped 2.82%
as a stronger yen weighed on exporters.
China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 closed up 0.84%,
its biggest monthly gain since February 2019, rising 12.8%.
Crude oil recovered from an overnight slump. U.S. crude
futures CLc1 rose 35 cents to settle at $40.27 a barrel, while
Brent futures LCOc1 settled up 37 cents at $43.31 a barrel.
Gold rose, with prices up 10% for the month. Spot gold
XAU= added 0.7% to $1,972.83 an ounce. U.S. gold futures
GCc1 gained 1.54% to $1,972.30 an ounce, just short of record
highs set earlier in the week as bullion marched toward the
$2,000 milestone. GOL/
Silver XAG= climbed 3.2% to $24.3 per ounce, its largest
monthly gain on records going back to 1982, supported by
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