GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks climb as data eases inflation jitters

* CPI data shows underlying inflation muted
* Treasury yields slide on tepid 10-year auction demand
* Wall Street builds on Tuesday rally
* European stocks hover near pre-pandemic highs
* Gold hits one week high as bond yields ease

(Updates prices, comment; adds 10-year Treasury auction)
By Chuck Mikolajczak and Matt Scuffham
NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - A gauge of global stocks
climbed for a second day on Wednesday to its highest level in a
week after a report on U.S. consumer prices calmed concerns
about inflation, while the dollar retreated further from a 3-1/2
month high.
Economic data from the Labor Department said its consumer
price index rose 0.4% in February in line with expectations,
after a 0.3% increase in January. Core CPI, which excludes the
volatile food and energy components, edged up 0.1%, just shy of
the 0.2% estimate, after being unchanged the prior two months.
While analysts largely expect a hike in inflation as vaccine
rollouts lead to a reopening of the economy, worries persist
that additional stimulus in the form of a $1.9 trillion
coronavirus relief package set to be signed by U.S. President
Joe Biden could lead to an overheating of the economy.
The House of Representatives gave final approval on
Wednesday to the bill, one of the largest economic stimulus
measures in U.S. history. "It (inflation) is not the biggest deal as long as it is
kept in check," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at
Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. "Higher rates are not really the
boogeyman, more the speed of it over the last month or two."
U.S. Treasury yields slid after an auction of benchmark
10-year notes that showed tepid demand with lower-than-average
bid-to-cover ratio.
The high yield was 1.523%, a little higher compared with the
"when-issued" or expected level at the bid deadline of 1.520%.
The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.38, compared with the reopening
average of 2.41, according to BMO Capital. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last yielded 1.5143%,
from 1.544% late on Tuesday.
Investors will now eye an auction of 30-year debt on
Thursday, seeking to cover massive shorts. A weak 7-year auction
in late February helped fuel inflation concerns and sent yields
higher. The fall in the 10-year yield after the auction wasn't
enough to help the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which lagged both the Dow
and S&P 500 after its strong move on Tuesday, as investors
stayed with names expected to benefit from the economic
reopening like financials.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 506.47 points,
or 1.59%, to 32,339.21, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 33.17 points,
or 0.86%, to 3,908.61 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
34.05 points, or 0.26%, to 13,107.87.
Europe's main index hovered near pre-pandemic highs.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 0.4%
after a rally in technology stocks on Tuesday pushed the
benchmark to its highest level since February 2020.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS rose 4.88 points
or 0.74 percent, to 667.87.
Gold erased earlier losses to hit a one-week high on
Wednesday, as U.S. Treasury yields eased.
Spot gold prices XAU= rose $8.2 or 0.48 percent, to
$1,723.56 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled 0.3% up at $1,721.80.
The dollar moved lower for a second day following the
economic data.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.167%, with the euro EUR= up
0.17% to $1.1918.
Oil prices resumed their climb after two days of declines,
extending gains after the Energy Information Administration
reported a bigger-than-expected storage build. U.S. crude futures CLc1 settled at $64.44 per barrel, up
43 cents or 0.67%. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $67.90
per barrel, up 38 cents or 0.56%.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Global assets in 2021 http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar YTD http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets in 2021 http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>