GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks boosted by vaccine roll-out; Brexit hopes boost pound

* Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 up 0.9%
* Sterling gains 1.2% as Brexit talks extended
* Eyes on U.S. Congress, Fed for stimulus guidance
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn

(Updates with U.S. market open)
By Matt Scuffham and Marc Jones
NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Wall Street opened
higher on Monday as the start of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out
in the United States cheered investors, while Britain's pound
jumped on a last-gasp extension to Brexit talks.
News that London and Brussels had agreed to "go the extra
mile" to try to salvage a Brexit trade agreement an optimistic tone, boosting Europe's main share index
.STOXX and lifting the euro against the struggling dollar.
.EU
"We are going to give every chance to this agreement...
which is still possible," the European Union's Brexit
negotiator, Michel Barnier, told reporters before updating
envoys from the 27 EU countries on Monday.
Progress on coronavirus vaccines boosted sentiment, with the
first doses being shipped across the United States as part of an
effort to inoculate more than 100 million people by the end of
March. That was despite second waves of the pandemic forcing
Germany, the Netherlands and possibly London back
into stricter lockdowns. Cases surged in Japan Korea and parts of the United States as well.
"The vaccine has and will likely continue to provide a
tailwind to the market that is allowing investors to look beyond
record case levels, hospitalizations and deaths," analysts at
JPMorgan said in a note.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
0.76%, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.86% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 1.31%.
MSCI's benchmark for global equity markets .MIWD00000PUS
rose 0.65% to 633.94, while its index for emerging markets
stocks .MSCIEF fell 0.5%.
Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 added 0.61%
to 1,517.92.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 0.3% as a survey showed the mood
among Japanese businesses improved in the December quarter.

In currencies, Sterling was the day's big mover, gaining on
both the euro and the dollar as what last week had appeared to
be evaporating prospects of a Brexit agreement came back to
life. Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.3335, up 0.85% on the
day after earlier climbing 1.2% to $1.3423 GBP=D3 .
"Even in the face of amped up rhetoric, we continue to think
a deal is the most plausible outcome," said AXA Group chief
economist Gilles Moec.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.025%, with the euro EUR= up
0.16% to $1.213.
The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.01% versus the
greenback at 103.99 per dollar.
The Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Dec. 15-16 will be
an added hurdle for the dollar. The market is assuming the
central bank will merely refine its forward guidance on policy
rather than buying more bonds or "twisting" its portfolio to add
longer-dated debt.
The Bank of England on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on
Friday will close out central bank meetings for 2020. Before
that, Wednesday brings the global flash PMIs and on Tuesday,
China will issue its monthly data.
"The risk is then if the Fed does unveil a surprise twist at
this meeting, then Treasuries could rally and the USD could
fall," said Tapas Strickland, a director of economics at NAB.
An extra wrinkle is the chance of a U.S. deal on fiscal
stimulus after a top Democrat hinted a compromise was possible
to get an agreement past Republican objections. Reuters reported a $908 billion relief plan would be split
in two to win approval and could be introduced as early as
Monday. The talk of stimulus helped put a floor under gold, leaving
it lower at $1,833 an ounce XAU= . Gold has gained more than
21% this year.
Oil prices rose on Monday, maintaining a six-week rally as
investors priced in a global recovery next year. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 rose 21 cents to $46.78 a barrel. Brent
crude LCOc1 futures rose 21 cents to $50.18.

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Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
Rebound of major world markets https://tmsnrt.rs/370lXbY
Sterling trade-weighted index https://tmsnrt.rs/2Wf7t1P
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(Editing by Larry King, Alison Williams and Dan Grebler)