* Gilead's remdesivir shows promise in clinical trial
* MSCI world stocks heads for best month on record
* Major currencies in holding pattern
* Oil markets still wild, Brent last up 7%
* ECB to hold press conference at 1330 GMT
By Marc Jones
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - World stocks headed for their
best month on record on Thursday, as encouraging early results
from a COVID-19 treatment trial and expectations of more
European Central Bank (ECB) stimulus later in the day helped
ease the pain of February and March.
Europe saw a cautious start with oil firm Shell's first
dividend cut in 80 years a record drop in French
first quarter GDP and surge in German unemployment all giving
traders an excuse for some pre-ECB profit taking. .EU
Not that it mattered. Easing coronavirus worries mean the
STOXX 600 .STOXX is up more than 25% over the last six weeks.
April will be Europe's best month since 2009 and for MSCI's
World Index, it could be best since it started in the late
1980s. .EU "We have gone back to a turbo-charged version of the great
financial crisis," said Simon Fennell, a portfolio manager in
William Blair's global equity team, referring to how markets
have surged on mass central bank and government stimulus.
"Today we will also see if the ECB is going to go to 1
trillion or beyond with its PEPP programme," he added, a
reference to the central bank's beefed-up bond buying scheme.
A 1.4% rise in MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares,
excluding Japan, .MIAPJ0000PUS kept it tracking towards a
weekly gain of more than 5%, its best in three weeks.
Optimism was also driven by positive partial results from a
trial of Gilead's GILD.O antiviral drug remdesivir, which
suggested it could help speed recovery from COVID-19, the
respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. Japan's Nikkei .N225 jumped 2.8% to a seven-week high and
Australia's ASX 200 .AXJO rose 2.7%, with the mood further
supported by South Korea reporting no new domestic coronavirus
cases for the first time since its Feb. 29 peak.
More caution was evident in other asset classes, with the
U.S. dollar steady against most of the other major currencies
and German Bund yields - which move inverse to price - dipping
to a one-month low ahead of the expected ECB moves.
"It's a hope-based rally rather than an evidence-based
rally," said Anthony Doyle, cross-asset specialist at fund
manager Fidelity International in Sydney.
There were still worries about a second wave of infections,
he said, adding that huge piles of cash waiting to go back into
the markets suggest investor confidence remained subdued.
BOND MARKET NOT BUYING IT
Markets have been excited by the prospect of a COVID-19
treatment because it may help economies emerge from lockdowns.
Partial results from the 1,063-patient U.S. government trial
of Gilead's remdesivir were hailed as "highly significant" by
the top U.S. infectious disease official, Anthony Fauci.
They showed hospitalised COVID-19 patients given the drug
recovered in 11 days, compared with 15 days for patients given a
placebo, and a slightly lower death rate.
But since treatment hopes don't seem to take into account
regulatory and distribution difficulties, should a treatment be
found, currency and bond markets were more circumspect.
"Any positive medical development is helpful," said Westpac
FX analyst Sean Callow.
"But no-one should be counting on a major breakthrough - the
key for markets is control of the spread of the virus."
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasuries US10YT=RR
stayed parked at 0.6170%, after the U.S. Federal Reserve left
interest rates near zero and gave no indication of lifting them
any time soon. The dollar held its ground against the resurgent Australian
dollar AUD=D3 for the first time in a week and barely budged
against the euro EUR= at $1.0875. FRX/
Gold XAU= was a touch higher at $1,715 per ounce GOL/ ,
though things were still wild in oil markets. Brent crude
LCOc1 and U.S. crude CLc1 futures each rose about $1.7 - or
7% - a barrel amid optimism that a storage squeeze is not as bad
as first feared, and that demand for fuel may soon return. O/R
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Global bonds dashboard (DO NOT USE UNTIL UPDATE FOUND) http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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(Additional Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore and Swati
Pandey in Sydney; Editing by Alex Richardson)