GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks edge back, bond yields, COVID-19 cases rise

* European stocks 0.6% weaker
* U.S., euro zone yields higher
* Dollar hits lowest in nearly seven weeks
* Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Tom Arnold and Alun John
LONDON/HONG KONG, 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.
With bond yields at elevated levels, the U.S. dollar
remained under pressure, hitting its lowest in nearly seven
weeks during the Asian session.
Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX was 0.6% weaker, with major
indexes in Frankfurt .GDAXI , Paris .FCHI and London .FTSE
all negative.
That followed a mixed showing in Asian equity markets as
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.2%, 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 0.1% weaker, slipping further back
from record highs scaled on Monday.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 rose 0.2%, pointing to
an equity recovery in the United States after major Wall Street
indexes on Monday drew back from record highs hit list week,
dragged by shares of Tesla Inc TSLA.O .
The electric-car maker 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. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR
rose to 1.6227%, up from its U.S. close of 1.599%, and at
similar levels reached on Thursday, but below their March
spikes.
The latest data from the United States has pointed to a
robust recovery from the pandemic. U.S. homebuilding surged to
nearly a 15-year high in March, showed data on Friday.
Euro zone bond yields extended their gains, but trading was
relatively contained 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 a new high since early February at -0.215% at the session
open, before dipping below that level.
In currency markets, the dollar continued its recent
weakness. The dollar index =USD was down 0.1% at 90.952,
having hit a low of 90.877 during Asian trading.
The euro EUR= was up 0.3% at $1.2065, its highest in
nearly seven weeks.
The risk friendly Aussie AUD= rose as much as 0.6% against
the greenback to reach a one-month high, partly due to upbeat
remarks from Australian central bank.
"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 more than
1%, with the former at $64.04 barrel, and the latter at $67.90
barrel. Three-month London copper CMCU3 traded just shy of its
highest level since August 2011. O/R
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.1% to $1,769 per ounce. GOL/

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World FX rates YTD http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
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(Editing by Sam Holmes and Himani Sarkar, Editing by William
Maclean)