GLOBAL MARKETS-Global equities edge higher as oil continues rebound

By David Randall
NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) - Global equity benchmarks
edged higher on Friday as investors weighed a slight gain in oil
against concerns that further stimulus measures by the European
Union to combat the economic damage from the coronavirus
pandemic could be delayed until next year.
Safe-haven assets such as the dollar and government bonds
were flat, reflecting the market's unsettled direction.
MSCI's All Country World Index .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.18%
following modest declines in Asia and Europe. The index is on
pace for its worst weekly performance since March.
Equity markets gave up their gains on Thursday after a
report that Gilead Sciences Inc 's GILD.O antiviral drug
remdesivir had failed to help severely ill COVID-19 patients in
its first clinical trial. "Any piece of bad news is likely to rattle the market," said
Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at New York-based
wealth management firm Inverness Counsel. "Investors are keen
for a semblance of hope that they can soon crawl out of their
homes and get on with some form of normal life, even if with
trepidation and fear."
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
153.2 points, or 0.65%, to 23,668.46, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
17.26 points, or 0.62%, to 2,815.06 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 35.06 points, or 0.41%, to 8,529.81.
EU leaders agreed on Thursday to build a trillion-euro
emergency fund to help recover from the coronavirus outbreak,
while leaving divisive details until the summer. French President Emmanuel Macron said differences continued
between EU governments over whether the fund should be
transferring grant money, or simply making loans.
"The risk exists that a concrete decision on the creation of
the recovery fund may not occur before September, thereby not
being operational before early 2021," Goldman Sachs European
economist Alain Durre wrote in a note.
Investors remained in perceived safe havens such as
government bonds and the dollar. U.S. benchmark 10-year notes
US10YT=RR were down 3/32 in price to yield 0.6181%, from
0.611% late on Thursday, while the dollar index =USD fell
0.159%.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $484
billion bill to expand federal loans to small businesses and
hospitals overwhelmed by patients. President Donald Trump, who has indicated he will sign the
bill, said late Thursday he may need to extend social distancing
guidelines to early summer.
Oil prices broadly retained their recovery from a price
collapse this week that pushed U.S. crude futures into negative
territory for the first time ever, helped by producers such as
Kuwait saying they would move to cut output. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 3.7% to $17.11 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $21.58, up 1.17% on the day.

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