GLOBAL MARKETS-Nasdaq jumps as Wall St pivots back to tech, oil ends off highs

* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

(Updates to afternoon)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Tech led the S&P 500 and the
Nasdaq higher and crude prices extended their rally on
Wednesday, as hopes of potential COVID-19 were tempered by
spiking coronavirus infections and the looming threat of new
lockdowns.
The blue-chip Dow was lower.
A return to tech-focused market leaders, which thrived
during COVID shutdowns but sold off earlier in the week as
investors pivoted to economically-sensitive cyclical stocks, put
the Nasdaq out front.
"The magnitude of the moves into cyclicals was probably too
far too fast for a two-day move," said Joseph Sroka, chief
investment officer at NovaPoint in Atlanta. "It's not that
there's worries about tech it's that the other sectors have
generated more optimism."
The prospect of a return to normal appeared to grow after
Pfizer Inc's PFE.N announcement on Monday that its COVID-19
vaccine candidate, developed with BioNTech BNTX.O , showed a
90% success rate in preventing infection during trials.
"We're on one side of the valley looking at the other side,"
Sroka added. "And while COVID is still around and
hospitalizations are increasing, the idea of a vaccine coming to
market allows investors to look across the valley to the
recovery in the other side."
The news stoked investors' risk appetite across the board,
and sent oil prices, building on two straight sessions of sharp
gains, higher.
But that optimism could be waning. The Dow Jones
Transportation index .DJT , seen by many as a barometer of
broader economic health, was sharply lower.
While on Tuesday the yield of benchmark U.S. 10-year
Treasuries reached the highest level since March, The U.S. bond
market was closed on Wednesday in observance of Veterans' Day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 97.35 points,
or 0.33%, to 29,323.57, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.83 points,
or 0.45%, to 3,561.36 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
186.34 points, or 1.61%, to 11,740.20.
The momentum of vaccine hopes and encouraging comments from
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde boosted European
shares higher for the third straight session, offsetting worries
over spiking coronavirus infections. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 1.08% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
0.55%.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.19%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.17%
higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 1.78%.
Crude oil prices edged higher, extended their rally and
building on gains sparked by the notion of reviving demand and a
steeper-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 0.22% to settle at $41.45 per barrel
and Brent LCOcv1 settled at $43.80 per barrel, up 0.44% on the
day.
The dollar gained ground against a basket of currencies and
the safe-haven yen weakened on hopes that a medical solution to
the pandemic could spark economic growth. The dollar index .DXY rose 0.33%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.36% to $1.1772.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.15% versus the greenback at
105.49 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.3215, down 0.42% on the day.
Gold prices slid, hurt by a stronger dollar and increased
risk appetite which drew investors away from the safe-haven
metal. Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.6% to $1,864.79 an ounce.

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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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