Last checked at 
* AstraZeneca vaccine returns stocks to February levels
* Australia eases lockdowns, U.S. vaccines in sight
* 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
*
By Lawrence White and Andrew Galbraith
LONDON/SHANGHAI, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Shares and oil prices
rose on Monday while the dollar fell as investors pinned hopes
for economic revival on coronavirus vaccines, even as the world
contended with surging case numbers and delays to fresh U.S.
stimulus.
The STOXX index of Europe's 600 largest shares rose
0.5% to its highest since February after AstraZeneca
become the latest major drugmaker to say its vaccine for the
virus could be around 90% effective.
Brent crude futures rose nearly 2% as traders eyed a
recovery in crude demand due to the successful vaccine trials,
while the euro edged up to 1.1864 as the dollar tested
the bottom of a range it has been in for the last few months.
The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University
is the third major trial to report success after U.S.-based
Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc with Germany's
BioNTech SE , sending pandemic-weary investors
to take on risk in hopes of a swift economic recovery.
Their optimism also comes after a top official of the U.S.
government's vaccine development effort said Sunday that the
first vaccines could be given to U.S. healthcare workers and
others recommended by mid-December.
Despite the backdrop of accelerating COVID-19 infections in
the United States, the forecast helped to raise hopes that
lockdowns that have paralysed the global economy could be
nearing an end.
"Today's vaccine news is positive, but it is only partly
responsible for the rally in stock markets this morning, which
is also being driven by the news that the U.S. hopes to start
the vaccination program in under three weeks," said Philip Shaw,
chief economist at Investec in London.
The rally showed investors are willing to look past the grim
U.S. case numbers -- cases topped 12 million over the weekend --
and weak European economic data released on Monday.
IHS Markit's flash composite Purchasing Managers' Index,
which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors that
together account for more than two-thirds of the German economy,
edged down to 52.0 from 55.0.
The European share rally took the region's November gains to
15% and followed another record high for Asian equities even
before the announcement of latest vaccine news.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
looked set to end the day 0.8% higher.
Australian shares gained 0.3% as the country eased
some COVID-19 restrictions. Most of the country has seen no new
community infections or deaths in several weeks.
Chinese bluechips had finished 1% higher, Seoul's KOPSI
climbed 1.9% and Bangkok jumped 2.2% to hit a
five-month high.
GOLD LOSING ITS SHINE
Analysts said the gains belied some uncertainty as monetary
and fiscal help for the U.S. economy remained elusive.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last week that
key pandemic lending programs at the Federal Reserve would
expire on Dec. 31, putting the outgoing Trump administration at
odds with the central bank and potentially adding stress to the
economy.
"Discussion is only beginning and may take some time if the
recent partisan disagreements over the composition and magnitude
of fiscal spending are any indication," analysts at ANZ said in
a note.
U.S. e-mini futures for the S&P 500 were 0.7% higher
at 3,577 in Europe. Wall Street's main markets had dropped 0.4%
to 0.8% on Friday on the combination of aid doubts and the
country's surging coronavirus infection rates.
With the vaccine news and dollar index, which tracks
the dollar against a basket of six major rivals, down to 92.264,
commodity markets were still bullish, with traders optimistic
about a recovery in crude demand pushing oil higher.
Brent crude futures rose 63 cents, or 1.4%, to
$45.59 a barrel in London. West Texas Intermediate crude
gained 49 cents, or 1.2%, to $42.91 a barrel. Both benchmarks
jumped 5% last week.
Safe-haven gold, meanwhile, drifted at $1,872 per
ounce, having lost almost 10% since peaking in earlier August.
"Positive sentiment continues to be driven by the recent
good news about the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines in
development and the expectation that the OPEC+ meeting at the
end of this month could see the group extend current cuts by
three to six 6 months," said Stephen Innes, chief global markets
Strategist at Axi, a financial services firm.
(Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; editing by Richard Pullin,
Larry King)
