Global stocks rise with U.S. tax plan in sight; oil wobbles

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sharp gains in the United States drove stocks higher despite a rout in emerging markets, while crude oil prices were volatile as OPEC met in Vienna to discuss an extension to its supply-cap deal.

The dollar slipped against the euro and other major currencies except the yen, despite U.S. data that showed a rise in inflation and a decline in initial jobless claims. The data reinforced already strong bets that the Federal Reserve will raise rates next month and several more times in 2018.

Chances of passage of a Senate tax overhaul bill rose with the endorsement of Senator John McCain. U.S. stocks, which opened higher as Wednesday's selloff in technology and other high-flying stocks reversed, took a further leg higher after McCain's endorsement.

The tax bill proposal, expected to reduce corporate taxes, is seen by most analysts as a boon to the stock market.

"The market is pushing higher as the tax reform gets closer to becoming a reality," said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

He said stocks are "beginning to price in a higher certainty of tax reform happening and that is the big driver today."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 289.79 points, or 1.21 percent, to 24,230.47, the S&P 500 gained 25.95 points, or 0.99 percent, to 2,652.02 and the Nasdaq Composite added 57.71 points, or 0.85 percent, to 6,882.10.

The Dow opened above 24,000 for the first time.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.46 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.24 percent.

The global equity gauge was on course to finish November with its 13th straight monthly gain - the longest monthly winning streak in the index's 30-year history. The total gain over the 13 months nears 23 percent.

Emerging market stocks lost 1.87 percent, the most for any day in over six months. Brazil's benchmark equities index lost 1.8 percent as traders focused on uneven progress of a pension reform bill seen by some as key to shoring up the nation's finances.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 1.62 percent lower, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.57 percent.

U.S. Treasury yields rose after the upbeat U.S. data.

Jim Vogel, interest rates strategist at FTN Financial in Memphis, said the market was focused on inflation.

"A lot of people have moved their forecasts to four rate hikes next year, from three. But the people who are skeptical about the four hikes in 2018 and who saw the data this morning may be thinking that is not totally out of bounds," he said.

Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 9/32 in price to yield 2.4061 percent, from 2.376 percent late on Wednesday.

The 30-year bond last fell 13/32 in price to yield 2.8363 percent, from 2.817 percent late on Wednesday.

The dollar index fell 0.06 percent, with the euro up 0.32 percent to $1.1885.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.46 percent versus the greenback at 112.45 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.3485, up 0.59 percent on the day.

Crude prices were volatile after OPEC members agreed to extend curbs on output to the end of next year, though a final deal hinges on the decision of non-OPEC producers.

However, some analysts say the nine-month extension was already priced in.

"Because they're going to be meeting again in a few months, we're just going to be doing this again," said John Macaluso analyst at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York.

U.S. crude fell 0.33 percent to $57.11 per barrel and Brent was last at $62.31, down 0.35 percent on the day.

Spot gold dropped 0.8 percent to $1,272.72 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.76 percent to $1,272.40 an ounce.

Copper rose 0.02 percent to $6,761.50 a tonne.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Julia Simon in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)