GLOBAL MARKETS-Equities gain, safe havens flat ahead of Fed statement

(Adds results from midday trading)
By David Randall and Lawrence Delevingne
NEW YORK/BOSTON, July 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets rose
and perceived safe-haven assets were steady on Wednesday as
investors awaited news from the U.S. Federal Reserve on monetary
policy and Congress over additional government stimulus.
The Fed is expected to sound reassuringly accommodative at
its policy review later in the day and perhaps open the door to
a higher tolerance for inflation - something dollar bears think
could squash real yields and sink the currency even further.
Investors are also focused on the U.S. Congress and White
House as they clash over new measures to replace enhanced
coronavirus unemployment benefits that are due to expire on
Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his
administration and Democrats in Congress were still far apart in
their efforts to agree on a coronavirus relief bill.
The market consensus is that a $1 trillion support package
will be agreed, said David Riley, chief investment strategist at
BlueBay Asset Management.
"I think that's a kind of bare minimum and that won't be the
last that will be needed," he said.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.50% following slight losses in Europe and broader
declines in Asia.
In midday trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI rose 72.13 points, or 0.27%, to 26,451.41, the
S&P 500 .SPX gained 23.71 points, or 0.74%, to 3,242.15 and
the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 93.57 points, or 0.9%, to
10,495.66. Among U.S. stocks to gain were Starbucks Corp SBUX.O ,
which saw its business "steadily recovering," and Advanced Micro
Devices AMD.O , which surged after it raised its revenue
forecast. Boeing BA.N shares fell after a bigger-than-expected
loss. Deaths from the novel coronavirus in the United States
registered their biggest one-day increase since May on Tuesday,
with this month's spike in infections having forced some states
to make a U-turn on reopening their economies. Asia and Europe have also been hit by new surges in COVID-19
infections, with several countries imposing new restrictions and
Britain imposing 14-day quarantines on travelers from Spain.
"Global stock markets appear to be starting to get a little
wobbly as the latest earnings numbers start to paint a picture
of a global economy that could start to face a challenging time
in the weeks and months ahead," wrote Michael Hewson, chief
market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
Traditional safe havens were mixed. Gold paused its rally,
down 0.1% at $1,957.39 an ounce. The dollar index =USD fell 0.371%, with the euro EUR= up
0.51% to $1.1774. Benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year notes
US10YT=RR last rose 1/32 in price to yield 0.579%, from 0.581%
late on Tuesday.
Oil prices climbed after a surprise drop in U.S. crude
inventories was enough to offset concerns about U.S. fuel
demand, though concerns about the record increases in COVID-19
infections kept gains in check. U.S. crude CLc1 rose 0.66% to $41.31 per barrel and Brent
LCOc1 was at $43.71, up 1.13% on the day.

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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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