GLOBAL MARKETS-Wall Street jumps, Treasury yield curve steepens after earnings, Biden assurances

(Updates to afternoon)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were sharply higher
and the Treasury yield curve steepened on Friday as upbeat
earnings and President-elect Joe Biden's COVID advisory team
helped reassure investors about the threat of new
pandemic-related lockdowns to combat record spikes in
coronavirus infections.
Encouraging results from Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O and Walt
Disney Co DIS.N helped send Wall Street's three major stock
indexes higher. President-elect Joe Biden solidified his election victory as
Arizona's 11 electoral college votes were added to his column,
but the official transition remains in limbo as President Donald
Trump persists with his refusal to concede. Still, Biden's pandemic advisory board provided a glimpse
into the next president's coronavirus plan, and said there was
no plan to enact a nation-wide shutdown. Economically sensitive cyclicals and small cap stocks, the
stars of the rally at the beginning of the week, once again led
the charge. On Monday, investor risk appetite was boosted by
Pfizer Inc's PFE.N announcement that the COVID-19 vaccine
being developed with German partner BioNTech SE BNTX.O
appeared to be 90% effective.
The S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow were on track to post
their second straight weekly gains, while at current levels the
tech-heavy Nasdaq is lower than last Friday's close.
"Markets are looking at the brighter sky but risk falling
into a manhole because short-term, the news on COVID-19 is very
worrying with so many states locking down, European-style," said
Thomas Costerg, senior economist at Pictet Wealth in Geneva. "I
would caution here that we will have a bumpy road between now
and inauguration day because of the coronavirus and softness in
U.S. data."
Indeed, economic data released on Friday showed consumers
are growing more pessimistic, while tepid inflation reflects
labor market slack and sluggish demand. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 387.47 points,
or 1.33%, to 29,467.64, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 41.3 points,
or 1.17%, to 3,578.31 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
75.63 points, or 0.65%, to 11,785.22.
European stocks ended flat as rising fears of economic
damage from the pandemic offset recent optimism surrounding a
vaccine and hopes of calmer global trade under Biden. Still, the
benchmark index notched its second straight week of gains.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.01% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
0.67%.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.61%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.52%
higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 lost 0.53%.
U.S. Treasury yields were mixed as investors consolidated
positions ahead of the weekend and remained cautious given the
surge in coronavirus cases. But the yield curve steepened on
Friday, after flattening the previous session. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 2/32 in price
to yield 0.893%, from 0.886% late on Thursday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last rose 5/32 in price to
yield 1.6455%, from 1.652% late on Thursday.
Crude oil prices slid, pressured by swelling output from
Libya and fears that rising COVID infections could slow a
recovery of global demand. U.S. crude CLcv1 dropped 2.41% to settle at $40.13 per
barrel, while Brent LCOcv1 settled at $42.78 per barrel, down
1.72% on the day.
The dollar was down, but safe-haven yen and Swiss franc
currencies strengthened, reflecting a loss of risk appetite
driven by vaccine hopes. The dollar index .DXY fell 0.22%, with the euro EUR= up
0.24% to $1.1832.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.49% versus the greenback at
104.62 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.3182, up 0.52% on the day.
Gold prices rose as rising global coronavirus infections
sparked renewed fears over the pandemic's economic toll.
Spot gold XAU= added 0.5% to $1,884.52 an ounce.

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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
Yields on longer-dated Treasury debt https://tmsnrt.rs/3koq9py
S&P 500 sectors gain amid vaccine hopes https://tmsnrt.rs/3eGGlBa
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