* AstraZeneca resumes phase-3 trial for coronavirus vaccine
* UK, US, Japan central banks meet this week
* Japan's Suga wins ruling party leadership race
* UK parliament to vote on plan to break Brexit divorce
treaty
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Dhara Ranasinghe
LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - World stocks rallied on Monday
on hopes for a coronavirus vaccine after AstraZeneca resumed its
phase-3 trial, but caution lingered before a host of central
bank meetings this week.
Sterling, which has been hit by renewed Brexit turmoil, was
on firmer ground before a vote on British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson's plan to break international law by breaching parts of
the Brexit divorce treaty with the European Union.
European stock markets opened broadly higher .STOXX and
U.S. stock futures rallied more than 1% ESc1 1YMc1 --
suggesting a strong start for Wall Street later on.
In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.9% to its highest in almost
a week. Japan's Nikkei .N225 firmed 0.7% after Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yoshihide Suga won a landslide victory in a ruling
party leadership election, paving the way for him to succeed
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L said at the weekend it has
resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of
the most advanced in development, after getting the green light
from safety watchdogs. The news provided a boost to sentiment in world share
markets, hit last week by a selloff in U.S. tech stocks.
"The news over the weekend that AstraZeneca clinical trials
had resumed is likely to be well received, however it is
unlikely to assuage concerns that the speed with which these
trials are being done could result in a vaccine being rushed out
too hastily, with unforeseen circumstances," said Michael
Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp NVDA.O said it would buy
UK-based chip designer Arm from Japan's SoftBank Group 9984.T
for as much as $40 billion in a deal set to reshape the global
semiconductor landscape, spurring a 1% gain in Europe's tech
sector. .SX8P
Friday marked six months since the World Health Organization
(WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11.
Since then, major global economies have slipped into
recession and millions have lost their jobs, prompting central
banks around the world to launch unprecedented stimulus.
The U.S. Federal Reserve this week holds a two-day policy
meeting and is expected to hold rates while elaborating on an
earlier announcement of a shift to inflation targeting. The Bank
of Japan and the Bank of England will announce their respective
policy decisions on Thursday.
BREXIT WATCH
Major currencies were stable on Monday, with the British
pound holding above 1-1/2 month lows against the dollar GBP=
ahead of a parliamentary debate on the Internal Market Bill.
After the debate, lawmakers will vote to decide if it should go
to the next stage.
Johnson's decision to explicitly break international law has
plunged Brexit back into crisis less than four months before
Britain is finally due to leave the EU's orbit at the end of a
post-Brexit transition period.
"The question will be how many Conservative MPs (members of
parliament) rebel on the matter," said Deutsche Bank strategist
Jim Reid, referring to Johnson's ruling party.
The dollar was a tad weaker at 106 yen, JPY= though still
a long distance from its low this year of 101.2. The euro EUR=
was a touch firmer at $1.1857.
In commodities, U.S. crude CLc1 jumped 0.6% to $37.55 a
barrel. Brent crude LCOc1 climbed 0.4% to $40 per barrel.
Gold was firm, with spot prices XAU= at $1,946.9 per
ounce. GOL/
Elsewhere, Turkey's currency and dollar-bonds came under
pressure after Moody's cut the country's sovereign rating and
warned of the risk of a balance of payment crisis. The lira
weakened 0.2% TRY= , flirting with fresh record lows last week.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>