GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks hit record highs, crude prices jump, on vaccine progress

* Wall Street, world stocks touch record highs
* Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine is effective
* Crude, U.S. Treasury yields jump, gold slides
* Biden win boosts trade-sensitive currencies
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

(Updates to market open, changes dateline to New York from
Milan, changes byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street followed world
equity indexes to record levels and crude prices surged on
Monday, as promising developments toward a coronavirus vaccine
and the prospect of improved trade relations under
President-elect Joe Biden gave a jolt to investor risk appetite.
All major U.S. stock indexes touched all-time highs and
crude prices jumped more than 10%.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N said its COVID-19 vaccine, developed with
German partner BioNTech SE BNTX.O , was more than 90% effective
in preventing infection, marking the first successful data from
a large-scale clinical trial. "The vaccine is really driving markets," said Chris
Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor
Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Most of the moves in
stocks, bonds and commodities are related to the light at the
end of the tunnel for the COVID-19 situation."
"It's a game-changer in terms of consumer spending and
consumer behavior and it augurs well for future economic
activity as we begin to see a reversal of trends caused by the
pandemic," Zaccarelli added.
Global leaders welcomed the U.S. election results,
congratulating President-elect Joe Biden even as incumbent
Donald Trump refused to concede, vowing to challenge the result.
The CBOE Market Volatility index .VIX , a barometer of
investor anxiety, dropped to its lowest level since late August.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1,092.42
points, or 3.86%, to 29,415.82, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 99.43
points, or 2.83%, to 3,608.87 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
added 139.21 points, or 1.17%, to 12,034.44.
Pfizer's announcement gave a jolt to European shares,
sending them to an eight-month high, building on hopes of more
stable trade policies under president-elect Biden. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 4.03% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
2.42%.
Emerging market stocks rose 1.65%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 1.21%
higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 2.12%.
The vaccine news sent U.S. Treasury yields soaring, with the
yield curve at its steepest since March, on optimism the world's
largest economy would emerge from a pandemic-induced recession.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 42/32 in price
to yield 0.9628%, from 0.82% late on Friday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last fell 111/32 in price to
yield 1.7521%, from 1.598% late on Friday.
Oil prices jumped nearly 10% as the vaccine news and an OPEC
output deal fueled optimism over rebounding demand. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 9.64% to $40.72 per barrel and Brent
LCOcv1 was last at $42.79, up 8.47% on the day.
The prospect of a Biden presidency buoyed trade-related
currencies on expectations of a thawing of the tariff war as the
dollar index stabilized. The dollar index .DXY rose 0.32%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.36% to $1.1829.
The Japanese yen weakened 1.91% versus the greenback to
105.36 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.3133, down 0.17% on the day.
Gold prices slid as investors pivoted away from the
safe-haven metal in favor of riskier assets. Spot gold XAU= dropped 4.5% to $1,863.51 an ounce.