GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks rally to record highs, dollar slips

(Adds close of European markets)
* S&P 500, Dow, MSCI ACWI hit fresh highs
* Bond yields near three-week lows
* Bitcoin hits record high, dollar weakens

By Herbert Lash and Tom Arnold
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Key global stock
indexes scaled new peaks on Wednesday after upbeat U.S. and
European earnings pointed to a strong recovery from the
coronavirus pandemic, while the dollar dipped to three-week lows
as Treasury yields held below recent highs.
U.S. import prices increased more than expected in March,
lifted by higher costs for petroleum products and tight supply
chains, in the latest data to show inflation is heating up as
economies reopen. U.S. Treasury yields ticked up in early trade after tumbling
on Tuesday, when U.S. consumer prices data showed that while
underlying inflation picked up in March it was not rising wildly
as the economy recovered.
Results from JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N and Goldman Sachs
Group Inc GS.N suggest high cash reserves and a lack of strong
loan demand will not spur inflation, allowing equities to rise
further, said Jack Janasiewicz, a portfolio strategist at
Natixis Advisors in Boston.
"What's the corporate use of that money, well it's loan
demand. We're simply not seeing that," Janasiewicz said. "If
you're going to be in that inflation camp you want to see people
using money and we're certainly not seeing that right now."
High corporate debt issuance and accommodative government
policies will push money into risk assets and lift prices, he
said.
Upbeat earnings from software firm SAP SAPG.DE and French
luxury goods maker LVMH LVMH.PA lifted the pan-European STOXX
600 index .STOXX , which closed just below a record high set
last week.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.34% to hit a new peak, as did the benchmark S&P 500 and
Dow industrials on Wall Street. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.07%
and the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.58%. The
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.23%.
Led by Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI , most Asia-Pacific share
indexes also climbed. The Nikkei .N225 fell 0.4% as rising
coronavirus cases raised doubts about Japan's economic recovery
with 100 days to go before Tokyo hosts the Olympics.
The New Zealand dollar rose to a three-week high of $0.7122
NZD=D3 after the country's central bank held its official
interest rate and asset purchase program steady, as expected.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin touched a record high of
$64,895 BTC=BTSP ahead of the listing of cryptocurrency
platform Coinbase on Nasdaq. Class A shares were poised to open
trading at $365 a share. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in remarks at
the Economic Club of Washington it was highly unlikely the U.S.
central bank would raise interest rates before the end of 2022.
Later on Wednesday, the Fed will release its Beige Book, a
compendium of data and anecdotes gathered by each of the 12
regional Federal Reserve banks on current economic conditions.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR rose 2.3 basis to yield
1.6465%. A spate of strong auction results this week has also
helped to tame yields. US/
Euro zone bond yields, which had been rising in line with
U.S. Treasury yields on hopes for a strong economic recovery
later this year and increased inflation, on Wednesday dropped 1
to 3 basis points. The dollar index =USD fell 0.206%, with the euro EUR= up
0.28% to $1.198. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.09% versus the
greenback at 108.96 per dollar.
Crude oil prices jumped on revised oil demand forecasts.
U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 4.79% to $63.06 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $66.51, up 4.46% on the day.

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