and confident COVID-19 vaccines would soon be ready.
Watch more in iWantTFC The renewed demand for shares pushed MSCI's broadest gauge of world stocks to a record high of 622.12. It was last trading flat, on course for a record monthly gain. "The world is going to look a lot better this time next year than it does now, and that's what equity markets are reflecting," said Mike Bell, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "The fact is the outlook has dramatically changed in the last month."
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei rose to a 29-year high, though analysts and fund managers polled by Reuters foresaw a correction in the near term. Oil prices held near their highest levels since March on the improved global economic outlook. Brent futures were up 1.2 percent to $48.42 per barrel, touching a high last seen in March.
Riskier currencies gained against safe havens, though the under-pressure dollar showed resilience as the morning went on.