* Shares recover on strong Chinese PMI numbers
* German bund yields rise after surprise SPD election
* Crude prices climb before possible OPEC cuts
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Tommy Wilkes
LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Stock markets rebounded on Monday
as decent manufacturing data in China and renewed optimism over
a trade deal eroded some of the jitters which emerged among
investors last week.
The recovery in Europe followed gains in Asia, where share
prices again approached record highs as investors stuck with
bets that a trade deal between the United States and China is
imminent, something which has fueled the rally in asset prices
in recent weeks.
Last week's decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to sign
legislation backing protestors in Hong Kong initially rattled
markets, with worries it will unravel progress made in talks
between Beijing and Washington.
But investors are nonetheless sticking with the broad view
that a further escalation in the trade war can be avoided.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks
shares in 47 countries, edged up 0.1 percent and was close to
last week's highs.
In Europe, the Euro STOXX 600 .STOXX rose 0.26 percent
while the German DAX .GDAXI was 0.23 percent higher. French
.FCHI and British .FTSE shares were also climbing.
Chinese data did much to help the mood after the
Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)
index rose to 51.8 in November from 51.7 in the previous month,
marking the fastest expansion since December 2016. "What we had in China on the weekend with the two PMIs being
above expectation is clearly a good sign in terms of making the
global stabilisation scenario more credible," said Francois
Savary, chief investment officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime
Partners.
Savary noted that European manufacturing data had also
posted an improvement, while euro zone inflation was higher than
expected.
"Not only do we have signs of economic stabilisation, we
also have a decreased risk of deflation. I am not sure if that
means markets should be hitting record highs, a lot of positive
news has been priced in," he added.
In Germany, the surprise election of new leftist leaders to
the Social Democrats (SPD) threatened the ruling coalition,
sparking a jump in German bond yields as markets bet it would
ease the path towards fiscal expansion. The 10-year German bond yield was last up 5 basis points at
-0.302 percent DE10YT=RR , a two-week high. That helped spur a
selloff across euro zone government bond markets.
U.S. Treasury yields were also notably higher, with the
10-year bond yield up by more than 7 basis points at a two-week
high US10YT=RR .
The buoyant mood among investors was also evident in the
U.S. dollar, which has tended to perform well on hopes for a
trade deal. It rallied to a six-month high of 109.73 yen
JPY=EBS , its strongest against the safe-haven currency since
Currency markets were largely quiet elsewhere, with the euro
little changed at $1.1016 EUR=EBS .
Investors have long thought that the United States will
avoid imposing an additional 15 percent tariff on about $156
billion of Chinese products on Dec. 15 after signing a deal with
China.
But the two countries have been so far unable to bridge the
gap over existing tariffs on Chinese goods, with Beijing
demanding the scrapping of them as a part of any trade deal.
"It looks a bit difficult for two countries' leaders to
shake hands and sign a deal this month. What is more likely is
to essentially kick the can, with China buying more U.S. farm
products while the U.S. postpones its next tariffs," said
Hiroyuki Ueno, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset
Management.
"Markets will consider such an arrangement as a de facto
deal whether they officially sign it or not," he said.
Oil prices recovered slightly after a big slump on Friday on
record high U.S. crude production. Expectations that OPEC and
its allies are set to extend existing oil output cuts when they
meet this week helped drive the rebound.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 1.21 percent to $61.22 a
barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 gained
0.85 percent to $56.02 per barrel.
MSCI world stocks index https://tmsnrt.rs/2qVb6hu
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