GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rise after upbeat vaccine news; sterling slips

* S&P 500, Nasdaq register record closing highs
* Sterling slips
* Johnson & Johnson higher after vaccine news

(Updates with U.S markets' closing levels)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Global equity indexes rose and
the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted record closing highs on Tuesday
after encouraging COVID-19 vaccine news, while Brexit deal talks
weighed on sterling.
Stocks on Wall Street reversed the day's earlier declines,
even as worries about further fiscal stimulus remained.
Johnson & Johnson shares JNJ.N rose after the company said
it could obtain late-stage trial results of a single-dose
COVID-19 vaccine it is developing earlier than expected.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N also gained as it cleared the next hurdle
in the race to get its COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency
use after the U.S. health regulator released documents raising
no new safety or efficacy issues.
Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New
Jersey, said there is much near-term negative news because of
the virus but, at the same time, a lot of positive news because
of the vaccine.
COVID-19 infections nationwide in the United States were at
their peak, with an average of 193,863 new cases reported each
day over the past week, a Reuters tally of official data showed.
Investors are waiting to hear if more stimulus will be
approved. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said
lawmakers should pass an aid package without either the business
liability protections that Republicans want or the aid to state
and local governments that is a Democratic priority.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 104.09 points,
or 0.35%, to 30,173.88, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 10.29 points,
or 0.28%, to 3,702.25 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
62.83 points, or 0.5%, to 12,582.77.
The S&P 500 managed to close above 3,700 for the first time.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX ended up 0.2% on
the day, while MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe
.MIWD00000PUS gained 0.21%.
Investors were trying to assess how widely and quickly
vaccines might be available. A 90-year-old grandmother in
Britain on Tuesday became the world's first person to receive a
fully-tested COVID-19 shot.
The dollar edged higher in choppy trading, taking a breather
from a sell-off that took it to its lowest level in more than
2-1/2 years last week, while sterling dipped as investors
awaited the outcome of Brexit trade-deal talks. With just three weeks left to break a deadlock in trade deal
negotiations, talk of a chaotic British split from the European
Union grew. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the two
sides may have to accept "no deal". In the foreign exchange market, sterling GBP= was last
trading at $1.3356, down 0.15% on the day, while the dollar
index =USD was up 0.1%.
Investors are also looking ahead to a two-day EU summit that
begins on Thursday, and the bloc is ready to set up its planned
EU stimulus without Hungary and Poland, which are maintaining
their veto of the EU budget.
Longer-term U.S. Treasury yields were lower as investors
watched for news on vaccines and their distribution.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 3/32 in price
to yield 0.92%, from 0.93% late on Monday. Oil prices were little changed, with Brent crude LCOc1
futures settling at $48.84 a barrel, up 5 cents. U.S. West Texas
Intermediate crude CLc1 futures settled 16 cents lower at
$45.60. Spot gold prices XAU= were also nearly flat.

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