GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares hit record high as U.S. stimulus seen within reach

* Ex-Japan Asia shares rises above Nov peak
* U.S. stock futures up, rebounding after Pfizer report hit
* Euro, emerging market currencies at highest since April
2018
* 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Asian shares scaled a record high
on Friday on the growing prospect of a large U.S. economic
package, while hopes that vaccine rollouts will boost the global
economy underpinned investor sentiment.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.6%, surpassing its Nov. 25 peak, while
Japan's Nikkei .N225 dipped 0.4% on profit-taking.
In New York, the S&P 500 .SPX fell 0.06% on Thursday,
erasing earlier gains after the Wall Street Journal reported
that Pfizer PFE.N had slashed the target for the rollout of
its COVID-19 vaccine due to supply chain obstacles. Yet, the damage did not last long, with S&P500 futures
ESc1 gaining 0.3% in early Friday trade.
A bipartisan, $908 billion coronavirus aid plan gained
momentum in the U.S. Congress on Thursday as conservative
lawmakers expressed their support and Senate and House of
Representatives leaders huddled. "A deal before the year-end looked almost impossible a while
back but now a package of around $1 trillion seems within
reach," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
On top of fiscal support, investors expect the U.S. Federal
Reserve to tweak its guidance of its asset purchase scheme later
this month while the European Central Bank looks certain to
increase its bond buying next week.
Progress in developing COVID-19 vaccines also led investors
to bet a recovery in corporate earnings will accelerate next
year, overriding any concerns about the current dire conditions
of the pandemic.
The United States topped 14 million known COVID-19
infections with over 100,000 patients hospitalized for the first
time. California imposed stay-at-home orders to take effect when
intensive care units approach capacity in the coming days.
"Stock markets are behaving as if the world has already
overcome the disease. In reality it will take time before
vaccines will reach every corner of the world and infections
start to decline," said Mitsubishi UFJ's Fujito.
"Given the rapid pace of gains in stock prices over the past
month, there will be some profit-taking. Nevertheless, I don't
think the market is peaking just yet."
The upbeat mood saw the U.S. dollar lose ground to other
major currencies as well as riskier, less liquid ones.
The euro rose to $1.2142 EUR= , its highest levels since
April 2018 while the yen stood at 103.85 per dollar JPY= ,
holding on to its 0.5% gains made the previous day.
The British pound changed hands at $1.3453 GBP=D4 , having
hit a three-month high on Thursday with traders clinging to
hopes of a trade deal between the European Union and Britain.
As talks continued to secure a Brexit deal, an EU official
said an agreement was closer than ever but a UK government
source warned chances for a breakthrough were receding.
The MSCI's emerging market currency index .MIEM00000CUS
stood at 2 1/2-year high, having gained more than 10% from its
March trough.
In commodities, oil prices got an additional lift after OPEC
and Russia agreed to slightly ease their deep oil output cuts
from January by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) even as they
failed to find a compromise on a broader and longer term policy.
The increase means the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries and Russia, a group known as OPEC+, would
move to cutting production by 7.2 million bpd, or 7% of global
demand from January, compared with current cuts of 7.7 million
bpd.
Brent crude rose to as high as $49.92 per barrel LCOc1 ,
its highest price since early March and last stood at $49.59.

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