GLOBAL MARKETS-European shares dip, Bitcoin hits record high

* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Ritvik Carvalho
LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - World shares dipped on Friday as
investors awaited progress towards more U.S. fiscal stimulus,
while the dollar was set for a weekly loss and cryptocurrency
Bitcoin hit a record high.
European shares fell at the start of trading, with the
pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX down 0.2% on the day.
Germany's DAX .GDAXI was down 0.7%. Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE
fell 0.35% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.3%.
Italy's FTSEMIB index .FTSEMIB fell 0.8% on the day, with
the country's bond yields were near record lows.
Markets in China and most of Southeast Asia are closed on
Friday for the Lunar New Year. China's stock and bond markets,
foreign exchange and commodity futures markets are closed
through Feb. 17 for the holiday.
Futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 declined 0.12%.
MSCI's All Country World index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks
stocks across 49 countries, fell 0.15% on the day, shy of record
highs reached earlier this week.
Investors weighed some tepid economic data against
increasing COVID-19 vaccinations and the prospect that more
government spending and continued cheap money from central banks
will drive higher growth and, eventually, inflation.
Investors will have to follow a "spike train", monitoring
hospitalizations, stimulus, inflation, and volatility, said Mark
Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth
Management, in his monthly letter to clients.
"Overall, we retain a favorable view of markets over our
tactical investment horizon," he said. "While the `spike train'
may lead to volatility, we don't think it will derail the bull
market."
Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.2%, trading just shy of a
record high reached in the previous session. Australian stocks
.AXJO lost 0.63%. Shares in Tokyo .N225 fell 0.14%, pulling
back from 30-year highs.
On Wall Street on Thursday, the Nasdaq .IXIC and S&P 500
.SPX gained 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average .DJI slipped 0.02%. Prices held near records as investors bet on more government
spending, although enthusiasm was tempered when U.S. President
Joe Biden said that China was poised to "eat our lunch," raising
fears of renewed strain on Sino-U.S. ties. U.S. weekly unemployment claims fell less than expected and
core consumer prices rose at a slower pace, which caused some
traders to temper their optimism about the economic outlook.
Bitcoin reached a record high of $49,000 before erasing
gains.
BNY Mellon's announcement that it would help clients hold,
transfer and issue digital assets came just days after Elon
Musk's Tesla TSLA.O said it had bought $1.5 billion worth of
the cryptocurrency and would accept it as a form of payment for
its cars.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.5% to $1,816.91 per ounce. U.S. gold
futures GCv1 fell 0.7% to $1,813.6. Gold prices are still on
track for their best week in three amid broad dollar selling.
GOL/
The dollar index =USD rose 0.25% on Friday but was still
on course for a 0.6% weekly decline. FRX/
Soft demand at an auction of $27 billion of new 30-year
Treasuries on Thursday rattled bond investors. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries US10YT=RR fell to
1.1532%. The 30-year yield US30YT=RR initially rose but then
fell back to 1.9370%.
Brent crude LCOc1 fell 1.05% to $60.50 a barrel, having
dropped half a percent the previous session. U.S. oil CLc1
fell 1.2% to $57.54 a barrel, after falling by 0.8% on Thursday.
OPEC cut its demand forecast and the International Energy
Agency said the market was still over-supplied, which cast a
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Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
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