(Adds close of European markets, dateline, byline)
* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Herbert Lash and Ritvik Carvalho
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped and
a gauge of global equity markets slid from record highs on
Monday as investors wait to see whether an expected jump in U.S.
earnings will justify stock prices already trading at very high
premiums.
U.S. government debt edged higher ahead of the Treasury
Department's auction of $96 billion in new three-year and
10-year notes, and before key data releases this week, including
a reading on U.S. consumer price inflation and retail sales.
The dollar slipped toward a three-week low as Treasury
yields held above recent lows, while oil prices rose on optimism
over a rebound in the U.S. economy as coronavirus vaccinations
accelerated.
MSCI's benchmark for global equity markets .MIWD00000PUS
fell 0.25% from Friday's record high.
MSCI's all-country world index's price-to-earnings ratio is
at its highest level since early 2010. The S&P 500's P/E ratio
on a forward 12-month basis is 23.5, a premium of more than 40%
to its 20-year average, according to CFRA.
Traders want to see results and whether company guidance
supports anticipation of a rebounding U.S. economy, amid caution
ahead of the U.S. bond auction, said Fiona Cincotta, senior
financial markets analyst at City Index, the retail division of
StoneX Financial.
"There is some optimism," Cincotta said of overall market
sentiment. "Slightly more upbeat guidance from the big banks,
that's going to help," she said.
JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N , the largest U.S. bank by
assets, reports earnings on Wednesday, as do Goldman Sachs Group
Inc GS.N and Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N . The S&P financials
sector .SPSY hit a record high on Monday before retreating in
anticipation of bank results, which lead the U.S. earnings
season.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
0.16%, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.15% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 0.54%.
Share prices will likely rise should estimates continue to
morph into better-than-expected results and guidance, said Sam
Stovall, CFRA chief investment strategist.
Analysts expect profits for S&P 500 firms to show a 25% jump
from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data. That
would be the strongest performance for the quarter since 2018.
Optimism about vaccination programs and an ensuing rebound is
driving stocks. Total market capitalization of global equities
hit $90 trillion last week, according to Refinitiv data.
European shares eased from record highs as investors held
off from making big bets before earnings season. Europe's broad
FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed down 0.43%.
The UK's more export-oriented FTSE 100 .FTSE fell 0.3%,
Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's CAC 40 .FCHI closed little
changed, while Italy's FTSE MIB .FTMIB gained 0.19%.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei .N225 edged down 0.77%,
and South Korean stocks .KS11 rose 0.12%.
India's Nifty 50 index .NSEI slid 2.4% as the country
overtook Brazil with the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases
globally. Chinese blue chips .CSI300 lost 1.5% before the release of
a series of economic data from China.
Shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 9988.HK BABA.N
surged 7.4% on relief that China's record 18 billion-yuan ($2.75
billion) fine on the e-commerce giant, which makes up more than
8% of the MSCI emerging markets index, was not more onerous.
China imposed a sweeping restructuring on Jack Ma's Ant
Group, the fintech conglomerate whose record $37 billion initial
public offering was derailed by regulators in November.
nL1N2M50R0 Alibaba is an affiliate of Ant Group.
U.S. growth and tech stocks saw a revival last week as U.S.
10-year Treasury yields retreated to 1.66% US10YT=TWEB , from a
14-month top of 1.776%.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury US10YT=RR note rose 0.7 basis
point to 1.6728%.
"Low inflation and dovish central banks should limit the
rise in bond yields during the recovery," said Andrew Pease,
global head of investment strategy at Russell Investments.
Data on Tuesday is expected to show U.S. inflation jumped in
March. Retail sales data is expected to show a surge, perhaps
with a double-digit gain, when a report is released on Thursday.
The dollar softened after the pullback in Treasury yields.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.119%, with the euro EUR= up
0.11% to $1.1909. The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.26%
versus the greenback at 109.43 per dollar.
Spot gold prices XAU= fell 0.68% to $1,731.26 an ounce.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose $0.29 to $63.24 a barrel.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 gained $0.33 to $59.65 a barrel.
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Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
Lofty valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/3d6uJZ4
Global equities hit $90 trillion market cap https://tmsnrt.rs/3mGMaCt
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