GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks surge to record highs on hopes virus is peaking, gold ebbs

(Adds U.S. market open, byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
* MSCI's all-world, Europe's STOXX 600, Germany's DAX at
record
* Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq, Canada's TSX also at record highs
* Dollar at four-month high over euro on US economy
performance

By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Key U.S. and European stock
indexes surged to fresh records on Tuesday after China's senior
medical adviser suggested the deadly coronavirus may be over in
April, a rosy outlook that helped crude prices to rebound on
renewed Chinese demand.
China's foremost medical adviser on the outbreak told
Reuters the number of new cases were falling in parts and
forecast the epidemic would peak this month, but the World
Health Organization still feared a "very grave" global threat.
Gold edged lower and the dollar retreated from a four-month
high against the euro as risk appetite improved, helping push
bond yields higher.
MSCI's all-world stock index .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.64% to
hit a record high, as did the pan-regional STOXX 600 index in
Europe, the blue-chip DAX .GDAXI in Germany and the S&P/TSX
Composite .GSPTSE in Canada.
The Dow industrials, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all set records.
Investors are not euphoric and the coronavirus has added a
dose of healthy skepticism in the marketplace, said Rahul Shah,
chief executive of Ideal Asset Management in New York.
"We are comfortable with stocks grinding higher, versus
shooting higher. So we think the slow gradual rise is bullish,"
Shah said. While valuations are slightly rich, "when you have a
bull market people are going to pay more for quality names."
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress that the
U.S. economy is in a good place, even as he cited the potential
threat from the coronavirus in China and concerns about the
economy's long-term health. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
37.72 points, or 0.13%, to 29,314.54. The S&P 500 .SPX gained
16.46 points, or 0.49%, to 3,368.55 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 73.48 points, or 0.76%, to 9,701.87.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.96% and
emerging market stocks rose 1.21%.
Concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus have
recently added a safety bid for the dollar, while economic data
has backed the view that the U.S. economic outlook is stronger
than the euro zone's.
The dollar has also gained as investors turn to carry
trades, where they borrow in low-yielding currencies such as the
euro and the Swiss franc and invest in dollars or other
high-yielding currencies.
The dollar index .DXY fell 0.06%, with the euro EUR= up
0.09% to $1.0919. The Japanese yen weakened 0.07% versus the
greenback at 109.87 per dollar.
Brent crude LCOc1 rose $1.04 to $54.31 a barrel, while
U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 crude rose 66 cents to
$50.23 a barrel.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.49% at $1,564.20 an ounce.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>