(Adds U.S. trading, byline; changes dateline; previous LONDON)
* Crude oil, metal prices gain on growth outlook
* Bond yields tumble after comments by ECB's Lagarde
* Faster growth spurs inflation fears
* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Global stock markets fell on
Monday as expectations for faster growth and inflation battered
bonds and boosted commodities, while rising fixed-income yields
made equity valuations look more stretched in comparison.
The dollar slid against major currencies, slumping to
multi-year lows against the British pound and the Australian
dollar. Gold rose more than 1% to a near one-week high and
copper prices shot above $9,000 a tonne for the first time since
2011.
Oil prices rose on a tight global supply outlook with U.S.
production hammered by frigid weather and an approaching meeting
of top crude producers expected to keep output largely reined
in.
Investors, who have been buying economically sensitive
cyclical stocks and selling growth stocks, are preparing for a
potential spike in inflation with the U.S. Congress poised to
pass a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.
"If interest rates are expected to rise, then that would
reduce the intrinsic value of growth stocks," said Sam Stovall,
chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
High-growth stocks, including Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft
Corp MSFT.O , Tesla Inc TSLA.O and Amazon.com AMZN.O ,
pulled the Nasdaq down and weighed on the S&P 500.
MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks
shares across 49 countries, fell 0.63%.
In Europe, the broad STOXX 600 index .STOXX was down
0.36%, hitting its lowest in 10 days. Germany's DAX .GDAXI
fell 0.31%, France's CAC 40 .FCHI slid 0.11% and Britain's
FTSE 100 .FTSE lost 0.18%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
0.07%, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.50% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 1.56%.
Government bond yields across the euro area fell after
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said the ECB was
"closely monitoring" rising borrowing costs.
Bond yields have risen sharply this month as prospects for
more U.S. fiscal stimulus have boosted hopes for a faster
economic recovery globally, which would also lift inflation.
U.S. economic growth as measured by gross domestic product
is expected to run hotter than at any time in the past 35 years
and business investment is expected to run twice as fast as the
broad economy, according to Credit Suisse.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers his semi-annual
testimony before Congress this week and is likely to reiterate a
commitment to keeping policy super easy for as long as needed to
drive inflation higher.
"The fact that the most recent rise in long bond yields has
been driven by higher real interest rates and not just inflation
expectations increases the probability of a dovish message,"
said Elisabet Kopelman, U.S. economist at SEB.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury US10YT=RR note's yield fell 0.2
basis point to 1.3432%. The yield on the benchmark U.S. Treasury
note earlier jumped to 1.394%, the highest since February 2020.
Earlier in Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific
shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 1.18%, after slipping
from a record top last week as the jump in U.S. bond yields
unsettled investors.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 recouped 0.8% but Chinese blue chips
.CSI300 lost 1.4%.
Oil prices jumped, with international benchmark Brent
gaining 22% for the year to date. O/R
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose $1.69 to $64.6 a barrel.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 gained $1.83 to $61.07 a barrel.
Rising oil and metals prices have been a boon for
commodity-linked currencies, with the Canadian, Australian and
New Zealand dollars all higher for the year.
Sterling hit a three-year top of $1.4068 GBP= , aided by
one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in the world. The dollar index =USD fell 0.226%, with the euro EUR= up
0.27% to $1.215. The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.35%
versus the greenback at 105.03 per dollar.
Spot gold prices XAU= rose 1.64% to $1,811.50 an ounce.
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP fell 7.2% at $53,344.07 from a record high of
$58,354.
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Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
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