GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks scale fresh peak as U.S. and China lead recovery

* MSCI AxJ rises 0.4% to two-week peak, world stocks hit
record
* Treasuries firm ahead of Fed minutes; dollar pauses gains
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, April 6 (Reuters) - Stocks hovered near a record
high on Tuesday, supported by strong economic data from China
and the United States, while currency and bond markets paused
for breath after a month of rapid gains in the dollar and
Treasury yields.
World equities .MIWD00000PUS briefly touched an all-time
peak in Asia as 1% gains in tech-heavy Taiwan's market and
Australia's miner and bank heavy bourse .AXJO followed rises
on Wall Street.
Profit-taking pushed Japan's Nikkei .N225 down 1% and
dragged on the Shanghai Composite .SSEC , though European
futures rose ahead of the first trading session after Easter.
FTSE futures FFIc1 and EuroSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1
climbed 0.8%. The S&P 500 .SPX closed Monday at a record peak
and futures ESc1 dipped 0.2% on Tuesday. .N
On the heels of a bumper U.S. jobs report on Good Friday,
March data showed services activity hit a record high. China's
service sector has also gathered steam with the sharpest
increase in sales in three months. "On aggregate, it's good for the global economy and
therefore that's a justification to move into more
cyclical-sensitive FX pairs and to buy stocks in general," said
Kyle Rodda, market analyst at brokerage IG in Melbourne.
"Yields haven't budged much and so tech stocks have
outperformed," he said.
The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries US10YT=RR
fell 1.7 basis points to 1.6897%, while the U.S. dollar has
mostly missed out on a big bounce from the strong data and held
at $1.1810 per euro after posting its steepest drop in weeks.
Elsewhere, Credit Suisse sought to draw a line under its
exposure to the implosion of hedge fund Archegos Capital
announcing the debacle would cost it about $4.7 billion and two
senior executives their jobs. STATE
The steadying Treasury yields and greenback follow a charge
higher over the first quarter, with an 83 basis point rise in
10-year yields, the biggest quarterly gain in a dozen years, and
a 3.6% rise in the dollar index - the sharpest since 2018.
"Bonds have settled down now," said Omkar Joshi, portfolio
manager at Opal Capital Management in Sydney, after a hard and
fast selloff. "I think markets can keep powering on from here."
Minutes from the March meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve,
due on Wednesday, are the next focus for bond markets, although
they will not address the most recent data surprises and markets
have run far ahead of Fed projections for years of low rates.
Fed funds futures 0#FF: have priced in a hike next year
while eurodollar markets have it priced by December 0#ED: .
"What needs to be tested is how the Fed reinforces and
reassures on its flexible average inflation target policy," said
Vishnu Varathan, head economist at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
"The dollar's past few weeks of movement reflects markets
moving ahead despite what the Fed has said," he added.
Currencies were fairly quiet through the Asia session, and
hung on to small gains on the dollar. The Australian dollar
AUD=D3 traded at $0.7647 after the central bank held policy
settings steady, as expected. The Japanese yen JPY= was a fraction softer at 110.21 per
dollar, while sterling GBP= touched a two-and-a-half week high
of $1.3919. FRX/
The dollar's wobble helped oil prices recoup some losses
suffered on Monday on worries a new wave of COVID-19 infections
in Europe and India can curtail energy demand. O/R
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 0.6% to $62.53 a barrel
while U.S. crude CLc1 climbed 0.8% to $59.11 a barrel. Gold
XAU= tacked on 0.5% to $1,737 an ounce. GOL/

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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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