GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks hit record highs, bitcoin surges after Tesla news

* Major U.S. stock indexes hit record closing highs
* Bitcoin touches record
* Oil prices rise to their highest in over a year

(Updates with closing U.S. markets levels)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Major U.S. stock indexes
registered all-time closing highs on Monday amid optimism over
U.S. fiscal stimulus, and bitcoin jumped after Tesla revealed it
had purchased $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency and would soon
accept it as a form of payment.
The world's most widely-held cryptocurrency, bitcoin
BTC=BTSP touched a record high following the Tesla Inc
TSLA.O disclosure, which was seen as significant since Tesla
is the fifth most-valuable U.S. company, and its CEO, Elon Musk,
is among the world's richest people. Tesla shares were up 1.3%, while cryptocurrency miner Riot
Blockchain RIOT.O jumped 40.2% and Marathon Patent Group
MARA.O climbed 42.4%.
"Musk getting involved in Bitcoin, to those investing in
Bitcoin, will be used as a way to tell others that this is a
real asset, you can actually do something with it. They will
support it as an argument of being the way of the future," said
Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth
Management.
The S&P 500 closed up for a sixth straight session in its
longest streak of consecutive higher daily closes since a
seven-day run from Aug. 20 to Aug. 28 last year. MSCI's gauge of
stocks across the globe also hit another record high.
Feeding the optimism were comments on Sunday by U.S.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said that if Congress
approves President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief
plan, the country would get back to full employment next year.
Congress on Friday approved a budget outline that would
allow a stimulus bill to muscle through in the coming weeks
without Republican support.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 237.52 points,
or 0.76%, to 31,385.76, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 28.76 points,
or 0.74%, to 3,915.59 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
131.35 points, or 0.95%, to 13,987.64.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.30%, while
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
0.74%.
Oil prices rose 2% to their highest in over a year, with
Brent nudging past $60 a barrel, boosted by supply cuts among
key producers and hopes for U.S. economic stimulus. Brent LCOc1 rose $1.22, or 2.1%, to settle at $60.56 a
barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 rose $1.12, or
2%, to settle at $57.97 a barrel. Both benchmarks were at the
highest since January 2020.
Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields held near 11-month highs as
U.S. fiscal stimulus was seen boosting economic growth and
spurring inflation. Benchmark 10-year yields US10YT=RR were last at 1.167%,
after earlier reaching 1.200%, the highest since March.
Thirty-year yields US30YT=RR were last 1.953%, after earlier
rising above 2% for the first time since last February.
The dollar was flat to slightly lower. The dollar index =USD fell 0.035%, with the euro EUR= up
0.05% to $1.2048.
Spot gold XAU= added 1.1% to $1,831.13 an ounce.

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Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
World stocks and oil vs COVID https://tmsnrt.rs/2LAzJdC
Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
World FX rates in 2021 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
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