GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks set to track Wall Street's defiant rally

By Lawrence Delevingne
BOSTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set for broad
gains on Thursday after Wall Street's S&P 500 index briefly
touched record highs, as investors appeared to shrug off worries
about stalled U.S. stimulus talks and a shaky economic recovery.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 rose 0.69% in early
trading, while New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50
gained about 0.4%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HIS HSIc1 rose
0.42% and Japan's Nikkei 225 futures NKc1 were flat.
Those gains came after the S&P 500 jumped on Wednesday,
finishing just short of its February record closing high.
Analysts said while recent headlines suggest economic risks
are growing, they also bolster the case for continued stimulus
from Washington, which has given markets something to cheer.
In a wide rally led by tech-related stocks, the Nasdaq and
Dow also rose sharply. The Nasdaq was the first of the three
major indexes to bounce back to an all-time high in June. The
Dow remains below its February peak. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 were flat.
The gains on Wall Street came despite a continued impasse
between lawmakers in Washington over the next economic relief
package and a warning from Federal Reserve policymakers that the
U.S. recovery will be gradual and slow until the coronavirus is
under control.
U.S. government bond yields dipped from one-month highs on
Wednesday after the Treasury saw good demand for a record $38
billion auction of 10-year notes, but they remained higher on
the day ahead of a 30-year bond auction on Thursday.
Kim Mundy, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia,
said Washington would continue to support the economy despite a
higher then expected inflation report. "Monetary policy will remain very accommodative in the U.S.
for a long time," she wrote.
The dollar index =USD fell about 0.3% amid mixed messages
from U.S. markets, and the Australian dollar fell 0.04% versus
the greenback at $0.716.
Ray Attrill, Head of FX Strategy at National Australia Bank
in Sydney, said that "the improvement in risk sentiment has
carried the day" for the Aussie after initially being dragged
lower by negative news out of New Zealand and second quarter
wage data.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.04% versus the greenback at
106.85 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.3033, up 0.01% on the day.
Oil prices climbed after government data showed U.S. oil
inventories fell across the board, bolstering hopes for
increased fuel demand in the world's biggest economy. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 recently fell 0.19% to $42.59 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was flat on the day.
Save-haven precious metals recouped some of their recent
losses in a choppy session.
Gold swung from being down 2.5% to add 0.3% to $1,917.16 an
ounce, a day after its biggest daily fall in seven years. Silver
fell as much as 5.5% and rose as much as 6% after a 15% plunge,
the largest in over a decade, on Tuesday. XAG= GOL/R
Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.3% to $1,912.97 an ounce.

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(Editing by Sam Holmes)