GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slide on tech sell-off, bond yields steady

(Adds byline, dateline, Powell remarks, fresh prices)
* Powell comments ease bond-yield angst
* Crude oil, metal prices rise on growth outlook
* Expectations of faster growth spur inflation fears
* Global asset performance:http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn

By Herbert Lash and Danilo Masoni
NEW YORK/MILAN, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Global equity markets
slid on Tuesday as a rally in commodity-related assets gave in
to pressure from fears of an over-bought market as investors
dumped tech stocks, though remarks by Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell helped calm sentiment.
Copper, a leading indicator of the economic cycle, touched a
fresh 9-1/2 year high before paring gains as equities markets
fell, while oil traded close to more than one-year highs as the
easing of coronavirus lockdowns was expected to boost demand.
Gold slid as the dollar rebounded from six-week lows, with
other precious metals joining the slide. But a degree of angst
was reflected in Cboe's market volatility index .VIX , up 6.9%
and touching multi-week highs.
Powell said in prepared remarks for a U.S. Senate Banking
Committee hearing that the recovery remains "uneven and far from
complete", and that it will be "some time" before the Fed
considers changing policies aimed at helping regain full
employment. Powell believes monetary policy needs to be supportive and
that there is a long way to go to repair the jobs market and
before inflation becomes a concern, said Michael Arone, chief
investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors in Boston.
"I'm not anticipating any changes to monetary policy any
time soon," Arone said, a view that should ease market concerns
that the Fed could boost interest rates to tap down inflation.
"U.S. 10-year Treasury rates have climbed very quickly in a
short amount of time. And that has spooked investors."
MSCI's benchmark for global equity markets .MIWD00000PUS
fell 0.68% to 669.22 while the slide on Wall Street was subdued
outside of the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC , which dropped 2.13%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.51% and the
S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.86%.
In Europe, tech stocks .SX8P posted their worst day in day
four months, falling 3.8%, while the broad FTSEurofirst 300
index .FTEU3 closed down 0.46% to 1,583.81.
The decline in tech stocks and rise in value stocks, along
with copper and crude oil, show investors are rotating into
assets that are expected to do well in an improving economy,
said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at ThinkMarkets in London.
But the equity decline is a warning sign that risks must be
heeded and that investors should not be so reckless or deceived
by markets at extremely high levels, he said.
"It's more of a rotation story than of stocks topping out.
So the dips will be bought," Razaqzada said. "The market is up
almost in a straight line. You've got to have the market
correct."
Tesla TSLA.O shares fell into the red for the year, hit by
a 12.1% plunge in bitcoin BTC=BTSP . The electric carmaker
recently invested $1.5 billion in the crypto currency, which
fell as investors grew nervous of its sky-high valuations.
After being knocked off an eight-month high by European
Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde signaling discomfort with
the recent surge in yields, the 10-year Bund yield DE10YT=RR
resumed a recent upward trajectory and was last at -0.317%.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury US10YT=RR note fell 1 basis
points to 1.3534%.
Commodity prices strengthened again.
Oil prices jumped by more than $1 at one point, underpinned
by optimism over COVID-19 vaccine rollouts and lower output as
U.S. supplies were slow to return after a deep freeze in Texas
shut in crude production last week. Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose $0.03 to $65.27 a barrel.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 slid $0.16 to $61.54 a barrel.
In currency markets, the dollar in early trade briefly
dropped to its lowest since Jan. 13, while commodity-linked
currencies hovered near multi-year highs.
The dollar index =USD rose 0.151%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.11% to $1.2141. The Japanese yen JPY= weakened 0.13%
versus the greenback at 105.19 per dollar.
Spot gold prices XAU= fell -0.09% to $1,807.01 an ounce.

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World FX rates YTD http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
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