By David Randall
NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Global equity markets rebounded
on Friday, with the U.S. Nasdaq Composite Index hitting a record
high, as investors took in positive economic data from Europe
and worried less about the potential economic toll of the
coronavirus outbreak in China.
A Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey showed Germany's
private sector gaining momentum, with growth in services up and
a pullback in manufacturing easing. British PMI
figures for January showed the vast services sector returning to
growth for the first time since August while a downturn in
manufacturing slowed. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 1.13%
following slight gains in Japan and Asia. On Wall Street, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 98.95 points, or 0.34%,
to 29,259.04, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.47 points, or 0.13%,
to 3,330.01 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 38.29 points,
or 0.41%, to 9,440.77.
"Sentiment among manufacturers is improving rapidly, meaning
that expectations for a 2020 recovery are increasing," ING
economist Bert Colijn said of the euro zone.
"We are expecting growth to very gradually pick up over the
course of the year."
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.26%.
Concerns abated slightly about the global economic
ramifications of a deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, after
the World Health Organization designated it an emergency for
China, but not yet for the rest of the world.
The virus has killed 26 people and infected more than 800.
Chinese health authorities fear the infection rate could
accelerate as hundreds of millions of people travel over the
week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which began on Friday.
"Markets are waiting to see whether or not (the coronavirus)
has a material impact on growth, and that's hard to judge at the
moment," said Neil Wilson, chief analyst at Market.com.
As investors bet on riskier assets, some safe havens such as
the Japanese yen JPY= and gold XAU= dipped.
The yen fell a sliver to 109.60 yen against the dollar, off
two-week highs of 109.26 touched on Thursday. Gold fell 0.3%.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 6/32 in price
to yield 1.7203%, from 1.739% late on Thursday.
U.S. crude CLcv1 dropped 1.7% to $54.67 a barrel while
Brent LCOcv1 slid 1.5% to $61.09.
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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