GLOBAL MARKETS-World shares near record high on Fed, earnings, but Asia slips

* MSCI ACWI near record high after strong U.S. data
* China, Japan stocks dip ahead of long holiday
* Amazon up after the bell on stellar earnings
* European stocks seen slipping 0.1-0.2%
* Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, April 30 (Reuters) - World stocks held near a record
high as strong U.S. economic data, robust corporate earnings and
the Federal Reserve's commitment to continue supporting the
economy fuelled investors' appetite for risk.
Asian stocks had less luck, with MSCI's ex-Japan index
losing 0.6% .MIAPJ0000PUS , following a softer-than-expected
survey on China's manufacturing.
"China's economic recovery in January-March was strong but
there are some doubts over whether you can take it at face
value," said Wang Shenshen, senior strategist at Mizuho
Securities.
Chinese tech giant shares listed in Hong Kong also buckled
as Beijing summoned 13 internet platforms to order them to
strengthen compliance with regulations, weighing on the Hang
Seng .HSI index. Mainland Chinese shares .CSI300 lost 0.25% while Japan's
Nikkei .N225 shed 0.7% on position adjustments ahead of a long
weekend. Both markets will be closed through Wednesday.
European stocks are expected to dip slightly, with euro
Stoxx futures STXEc1 down 0.1% and Britain's FTSE futures
FFIc1 trading 0.2% lower.
MSCI's broadest gauge of world stocks covering 50 markets,
ACWI .MIWD00000PUS , however, was little changed and stood
close to a record peak touched the previous day and up 5.1% on
the month.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX also closed at an
all-time high while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC hit a intraday
record before paring some gains.
For both ACWI and S&P500, analysts are now expecting the
earnings in the next 12 months to recover to above their
pre-pandemic levels.
With just over a half of S&P500 companies reporting
earnings, about 87% beat market expectations, according to
Refinitiv, the highest level in recent years.
Amazon AMZN.O was the latest to report stellar results
late on Thursday, lifting its shares by 2.4% in after-hours
trade. Data on Thursday showed U.S. economic growth accelerated in
the first quarter, fuelled by massive government aid to
households and businesses. New York City aims to "fully reopen" on July 1 after more
than a year of closures and capacity restrictions, Mayor Bill de
Blasio said, buttressing hopes for recovery in the battered
service sector, an important source of employment. That came against the backdrop of the Federal Reserve's
reassurance on Wednesday that it is not time yet to begin
discussing any change in its easy monetary policy. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 1.690%, its highest
in more than two weeks, and last stood at 1.640% US10YT=RR .
"For now we are likely to see strong economic data from the
U.S. and that means we need to be wary of further rise in U.S.
bond yields, and the dollar/yen," said Toshiya Nakamura, chief
manager of forex trading at Mitsubishi Trust Bank.
In the currency market, the yen was listless at 108.79 per
dollar JPY= , having hit a two-week low of 109.22 as higher
U.S. bond yields helped the dollar.
The positive risk mood saw the euro extending its bull run
to a two-month high of $1.2150 in the previous session and it
last stood at $1.2115 EUR= . With 3.3% gains so far this month,
it is on course for its biggest monthly rise in 9 months.
The Canadian dollar extended its gains to a three-year high
of C$1.22715 per U.S. unit CAD=D4 , boosted by the Bank of
Canada's tapering of its bond-buying programme and higher
commodities including oil and lumber.
Oil prices took a breather after hitting six-week highs on
strong U.S. economic data.
Brent LCOc1 slipped 0.8% to $68.00 per barrel, after
having hit a high of $68.95 on Thursday while U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) eased 0.9% to $64.41 per barrel CLc1 .
"Strong U.S. data is supporting the market. But on the other
hand, given that oil producers have capacities to boost outputs
further, there will be resistances around $65 for WTI and $70
for Brent," said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior commodity strategist
at Nomura Securities.

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(Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Raju Gopalakrishnan)