GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks edge higher, bonds sell off as investors bet on recovery

(Updates to U.S. close of trading)
* The Dow hit all-time highs
* Bitcoin breaks above $50,000
* Government bond yields leap
* Oil prices close to 13-month highs, supported by Texas
cold snap

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial
Average notched a record closing high, joining a global march
propelling stock indexes to record highs on Tuesday, as
investors bet that COVID-19 vaccinations and U.S. stimulus will
deliver a durable economic recovery after a year of lockdowns.
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP added to the bullish mood, briefly
climbing above $50,000 for the first time, while prospects of
"reflation" - a boost in inflation from extraordinary fiscal
stimulus - pushed U.S. Treasury yields higher.
U.S. President Joe Biden was traveling to Wisconsin on
Tuesday to press his case for a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief
bill in the political battleground state that helped secure his
victory in last year's presidential election. The MSCI's global stock index .MIWD00000PUS was about flat
at 684.70 after hitting a record high of 687.26 earlier in the
session.
On Wall Street, the Dow hit an all-time high on Tuesday,
while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq retreated slightly from record
levels, as investors bet on more fiscal aid to lift the world's
biggest economy from a coronavirus-driven slump.
"The reflation trade continues to push equity markets across
all industries and multi-caps ... and this rally could continue
in the near-term," said Tony Bedikian, head of global markets at
Citizens Bank in Boston.
The Nasdaq dipped as technology stocks moved lower, while
concerns over rising interest rates kept the benchmark S&P 500
little changed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 64.35 points,
or 0.2%, to close at 31,522.75, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.24
points, or 0.06%, to finish at 3,932.59 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 47.98 points, or 0.34%, to end at 14,047.50.
European shares ended about flat around a one-year peak on
Tuesday as a boost from major mining and bank stocks was
tempered by losses in most other sectors, with investors
remaining uncertain over a euro zone economic recovery.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX finished down
0.06%.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose above 1.3% for the
first time in nearly a year on Tuesday and the yield curve
steepened as expectations of extended fiscal and monetary
stimulus alongside hopes of an economic upswing added momentum
to the reflation trade. "The market has fully embraced the prospects of Biden's $1.9
trillion stimulus, and the accelerated vaccine rollout is
support of further bearish price action as well," Westpac
strategists told clients.
Bond yield curves - considered a reliable barometer of
growth expectations - have also steepened, with the gap between
two-year and 10-year U.S. notes now around 117 bps, the widest
since March 2017. US2US10=TWEB .
The U.S. dollar bounced off three-week lows as bullish
comments from a U.S. Federal Reserve official and upbeat
manufacturing data helped arouse investor risk appetite.
Against a basket of its rivals =USD , the greenback gained
0.245% to 90.555, after earlier falling to 90.117, its lowest
level since Jan. 26.
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP briefly soared above $50,000 to an
all-time high, adding steam to a rally fueled by signs that the
world's biggest cryptocurrency is gaining acceptance among
mainstream investors and companies. The cryptocurrency was last
up 1.5% at $48,649.25. Oil prices hovered near 13-month highs on Tuesday, supported
by a deep freeze in the U.S. South that shut wells and oil
refineries in Texas. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $63.35 a barrel, up 5
cents or 0.08%, while U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 settled at
$60.05 a barrel, up 58 cents, or 0.98%.
U.S. natural gas futures jumped as much as 10.4% on Tuesday
to an over three-month high as bone-chilling weather across the
United States disrupted pipeline flows and pushed up heating
demand. Spot gold XAU= was down 1.34% at $1,794.06 an ounce.
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Bitcoin crosses $50K https://tmsnrt.rs/2N3uDaA
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