* Highly anticipated vaccine facing more scrutiny
* Treasury yields fall, point to lingering COVID-19 worries
* Bitcoin extends Thursday's big losses
* USD index closes at 2-1/2 year low
* U.S. markets on shortened hours after Thanksgiving holiday
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Updates to U.S. market close)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Stocks rose across the globe on Friday to close
at a fresh high and remained on track for their strongest monthly performance on
record but the Nasdaq outperformed on Wall Street and Treasury yields fell,
indicating lingering concerns over rising coronavirus cases globally.
A global stock index touched a record high for the third session this week
while the dollar index, a measure of the greenback versus six peers, touched a
three-month low and closed at its lowest since April 2018.
On Wall Street, the main indexes rose and the Nasdaq Composite hit a record
high. The Nasdaq outperformance mirrors recent sessions when, despite rising
stocks, the focus was on the economic impact of the pandemic. The U.S. expects a
further surge in coronavirus infections following the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37.9 points, or 0.13%, to
29,910.37, the S&P 500 gained 8.7 points, or 0.24%, to 3,638.35 and the
Nasdaq Composite added 111.44 points, or 0.92%, to 12,205.85.
European stocks rose after the European Central Bank reinforced expectations
of further stimulus next month and Sweden's Riksbank made a surprise increase to
its quantitative-easing program.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.41% and MSCI's gauge of
stocks across the globe gained 0.39% to 623.75 after touching a
high of 624.29.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.12%, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.40%.
Questions also lingered over trial data on AstraZeneca's COVID-19
"vaccine for the world," as several scientists sounded caution over the trial
results.
Australian shares ended down 0.5% with Treasury Wine Estates
down 11.25% as China imposed new tariffs on Australian wine, the latest
move in the countries' long-running trade row.
The European Union and Britain said substantial differences remained over a
Brexit trade deal, as the EU chief negotiator prepared to travel to London in a
last-ditch attempt to avoid a tumultuous finale to the five-year crisis.
Sterling, which has climbed over 3% against the dollar this month, was last
trading at $1.3299, down 0.42% on the day.
"Clearly, there are substantial and important differences still to be
bridged, but we're getting on with it," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
told reporters.
The dollar index fell 0.269%, with the euro up 0.39% to
$1.196. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.24% versus the greenback at 104.03 per
dollar.
"Over the longer term, this is probably the right trend for the dollar. We
think the dollar has further room to the downside," said Bipan Rai, North
America head of foreign exchange strategy at CIBC Capital Markets.
The yield on benchmark Treasury notes fell as some investors
sought the safety of holding government debt over persistent concerns about the
surge in coronavirus cases and lockdowns in several U.S. states and around the
world.
The 10-year notes last rose 11/32 in price to yield 0.8422%, from 0.878%
late on Wednesday.
Oil prices, up for a fourth straight week, were mixed.
U.S. crude recently fell 0.42% to $45.52 per barrel and Brent
was at $48.27, up 0.98% on the day. Both rose over 7% this week.
Bitcoin fell 2.25% to $16,774.49 after tumbling 8.4% in the
previous session. The cryptocurrency brushed against its record high of $19,666
earlier this week and has rallied around 130% this year.
Spot gold dropped 1.3% to $1,787.40 an ounce. Silver fell
3.20% to $22.70.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Sinéad Carew in New York,
Marc Jones in London and Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru
Editing by Nick Zieminski
)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
