GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks soar to fresh peaks, dollar slips

(Adds oil, gold settlement prices, remarks)
* 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) - Major 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.
High-flying growth stocks declined on Wall Street, sending
the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower in afternoon trade, while
underpriced value stocks rose, lifting the Dow to a new record.
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 on the import
data after tumbling on Tuesday when the U.S. consumer price
index showed that while underlying inflation jumped in March, it
was not surging as some feared, allowing risk assets to rise.
Results from JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N and Goldman Sachs
Group Inc GS.N also suggest high cash reserves and a lack of
strong loan demand will not spur inflation, giving equities
further room to run, 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. U.S. companies now have more cash on hand than they did
before the pandemic, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
In Europe, upbeat earnings from German software firm SAP
SAPG.DE and French luxury goods maker LVMH LVMH.PA lifted
the pan-regional STOXX 600 index .STOXX , which closed just
below a record high set last week.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.02% to hit a new peak, as did the benchmark S&P 500
.SPX before retreating, down 0.38%. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 0.94% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI rose 0.22%.
The Russell 1000 Value index .RLV rose 0.5%, while the
Russell 1000 Growth index .RLG fell 0.8%, led by the big
technology firms.
"It's a day for cyclicals, that's where the strength is. The
little bit of selling we're seeing is in tech plus," said Tim
Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel.
Germany's DAX index .GDAXI ended 0.2% lower. Economic
institutes will cut their joint 2021 growth forecast for
Europe's largest economy to 3.7% from 4.7%, sources said, due to
a longer than expected COVID-19 lockdown. Most Asia-Pacific share indexes also climbed, led by Hong
Kong's Hang Seng .HSI . 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.

Bitcoin touched a record high of $64,895 BTC=BTSP ahead of
the listing of cryptocurrency platform Coinbase Global Inc
COIN.O on Nasdaq. Coinbase was valued at almost $100 billion
in a Nasdaq debut that marked another milestone in the
development of bitcoin and other digital assets. 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.
The U.S. recovery accelerated to a moderate pace from late
February to early April as consumers, buoyed by increased
COVID-19 vaccinations and strong fiscal support, spent more on
travel and other items, the Fed said in its latest "Beige Book"
collection of anecdotes about the economy. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR rose 1.3 basis points to
yield 1.6359%. 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 0.124%, with the euro EUR= up
0.2% to $1.197. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.12% versus the
greenback at 108.92 per dollar.
Oil prices surged almost 5% after a report from the
International Energy Agency followed by U.S. inventory data
boosted optimism about a rebound in demand.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose $2.97 to settle at $63.15 a
barrel, while Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled up $2.91 at
$66.58 a barrel.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled down 0.6% at $1,736.30 an
ounce.

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