* Wall Street gains for the week
* Bitcoin dips after hitting record high
* MSCI world equity index up for a 10th day(Updates with U.S. markets closing levels)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) – MSCI’s gauge of stocks acrossthe globe rose for a 10th straight session on Friday and hitanother record high as investors anticipated new fiscal aid fromWashington to help the U.S. economy recover, while benchmarkU.S. Treasury yields rose to their highest levels since March.
On Wall Street, all three major indexes hit record closinghighs, with energy, financial and materials leading gains amongS&P sectors as investors snapped up cyclical and under-pricedvalue stocks. All three indexes also posted gainsfor the week.
The Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street’s fear gauge,ended below 20 for the first time since February 2020, shortlybefore the coronavirus pandemic roiled U.S. stocks.
“We’re underestimating the lag effect of all the money inthe system as more and more vaccinations are delivered and asmore of the country reopens” from business shutdowns, saidThomas Hayes, chairman and managing member of hedge fund GreatHill Capital LLC in New York.
“We are continuing this rotation that would be consistentwith the new business cycle, and as (bond) yields go up, valueand cyclicals will lead,” Hayes said.
U.S. President Joe Biden pushed for the first majorlegislative achievement of his term, turning to a bipartisangroup of local officials for help on his $1.9 trillioncoronavirus relief plan.
The dollar was slightly higher, coming off its strongestlevel for the day, as risk appetite returned to the market,while Bitcoin was down 1.3% on the day at $47,356,after hitting a record high of $49,000. It posted gains ofroughly 20% in a milestone week marked by the endorsement ofmajor firms such as Elon Musk’s Tesla.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27.7 points, or0.09%, to 31,458.4, the S&P 500 gained 18.45 points, or0.47%, to 3,934.83 and the Nasdaq Composite added 69.70points, or 0.5%, to 14,095.47.
The U.S. stock market will be closed on Monday because ofthe Presidents Day holiday.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.64% andMSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained0.37%.
In the bond market, investors closed positions ahead of along U.S. weekend, while inflation expectations edged up to asix-year high.
Benchmark 10-year yields rose to 1.203%, justpipping an 11-month high of 1.20% that was set on Monday.
The dollar index rose 0.042%, with the eurodown 0.08% to $1.2118.
Oil prices climbed more than 2%, hitting the highest levelsin more than a year on hopes a U.S. stimulus will boost theeconomy and fuel demand.
Brent crude rose $1.29 to settle at $62.43 a barrelafter rising to a session high of $62.83, the highest since Jan.22, 2020. U.S. oil gained $1.23 to $59.47 after rising toa session high of $59.82, the highest since Jan. 9, 2020.
Spot gold dropped 0.1% to $1,823.46 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru and HerbertLash and Karen Brettell in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminskiand David Gregorio)
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This article originally appeared on finance.yahoo.com
