GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks edge back as COVID-19 cases climb

* European stocks 1.2% weaker
* Focus on U.S. tech earnings
* Dollar near lowest in nearly seven weeks
* Oil, copper prices higher
* Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Tom Arnold
LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Global shares edged further
back from record highs on Tuesday as lofty sovereign bond yields
and rising global COVID-19 cases had investors questioning high
equity valuations.
Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX was 1.2% weaker, on course for
its biggest daily sell-off in more than seven weeks after
hitting record highs the day before.
That followed a mixed showing in Asian equity markets as
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.1%, close to its highest level since
March. But Japan's Nikkei .N225 dropped 2% on worries that the
possible reintroduction of COVID-19 emergency measures in the
country's biggest cities would slow the economic recovery.

India reported 1,761 deaths from COVID-19 overnight, its
highest daily toll, with large parts of the country now under
lockdown, as the country battles a second wave. "Markets are struggling to ascertain in which direction the
next major move is," said James Athey, investment director at
Aberdeen Standard Investments.
"The reaction to very strong U.S. data in recent days will
have seriously disappointed the bond bears, suggesting the good
news is very much in the price. Against that, we still have
vaccine concerns, a rapidly spreading virus and potential tax
increases which have yet to be fully recognised and absorbed."
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks
shares in 49 countries, was 0.3% weaker, slipping further back
from record highs scaled on Monday.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 was 0.4% down,
pointing to another day of selling in the United States after
major Wall Street indexes on Monday drew back from record highs
hit last week.
Shares of Tesla Inc TSLA.O dragged on the market. The
electric-car maker's stock slid 3.4% after a Tesla vehicle
believed to be operating without anyone in the driver's seat
crashed into a tree on Saturday north of Houston, killing two
occupants. Investors are turning to earnings for other major
technology-related companies this week, with Netflix NFLX.O
due to be the first among the FAANG group to report quarterly
numbers.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR
rose as high as 1.6330%, up from its U.S. close of 1.5990%, but
below their March spikes. The yield later eased back to 1.5924%.
The latest data from the United States has pointed to a
robust recovery from the pandemic, with data on Friday showing
U.S. homebuilding surged to nearly a 15-year high in March.
Euro zone bond yields extended their gains in early European
trading as focus turns to the European Central Bank meeting on
Thursday, which investors hope will give more clarity about
stimulus plans for the bloc.
Germany's 10-year yield DE10YT=RR rose above Monday's peak
to its highest since late February at -0.215% at the session
open, before dipping below that level.
In currency markets, the dollar's recent downward path
eased. The dollar index =USD was nearly flat at 91.026, having
hit a low of 90.877 during Asian trading.
The euro EUR= was up 0.1% at $1.2054, not far from its
highest in nearly seven weeks.
The British pound EURGBP=D3 earlier crossed the $1.40 mark
for the first time in nearly a month, helped by data showing
Britain's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell for a second month
in a row in the December-to-February period. "In our view, USD can remain heavy this week as focus shifts
from U.S. economic outperformance to the improving global
economic outlook more broadly," analysts at CBA wrote in a
research note.
The weak dollar helped push up commodity prices.
U.S. crude CLc1 and Brent LCOc1 both gained, supported
by disruption to Libyan exports and expectations of a drop in
U.S. crude inventories. The former was at $63.44 barrel, and the
latter at $67.20 barrel. Three-month London copper CMCU3
traded just shy of its highest level since August 2011.
O/R
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.3% to $1,774 per ounce. GOL/

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