(Updates to U.S. market close)
* Crude prices wobble alongside risk appetite
* Gold up as greenback weakens
* Australian and New Zealand dollars rise as greenback falls
* Japan stocks rally; Asia boosts emerging market equities
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar touched atwo-week low on Tuesday as traders bet on riskier currencies onnew signs of a thaw in relations between North and South Koreaand the North's willingness to discuss denuclearization with theUnited States.
North and South Korea, still technically at war since 1953but with tensions having eased since the Winter Olympics hostedby the South last month, will hold their first summit in morethan a decade next month, South Korea said on Tuesday. It alsosaid the North would suspend nuclear tests while proposed talkswith the United States on denuclearization were under way. the U.S. stock market focused on concerns over apossible trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump announcedplanned tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum last week. Themajor indexes eked out small gains on Tuesday as investorsweighed mixed signals from Washington. lawmakers stepped up calls for Trump to pull backfrom the tariffs as key trading partner Mexico rejected a bid byWashington to drive a wedge between it and Canada in talks torenegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, while Trumpreiterated his plan to go ahead with the tariffs. U.S. dollar, seen as a safe haven against risk in recentmonths, fell further after news of the North and South Koreatalks as investors bought the Australian and New Zealand dollarsand some emerging market currencies.
"It's too early to wholeheartedly buy these currenciesbecause of the chances of escalating trade tension between theU.S. and its trading partners," said Omer Esiner, chief marketanalyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.
The dollar index .DXY , which tracks the greenback againsta basket of other major currencies, fell 0.56 percent, up 0.04percent toafter touching its lowest level since Feb. 20. Theeuro EUR= rose 0.57 percent to $1.2405.
The Japanese yen JPY= weakened 0.02 percent versus thegreenback, to 106.16 per dollar, while sterling GBP= was at$1.3888, up 0.02 percent.
Traders await clues on monetary policy direction when theEuropean Central Bank and the Bank of Japan hold policy meetingson Thursday and Friday.
"The strength of the euro is starting to put pressure on theeuro-zone economy. This is putting pressure on the ECB," saidJack McIntyre, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global inPhiladelphia.
Stocks edged higher in Europe, as well as in the UnitedStates, while a global gauge of major equity markets was boosted largely by gains in Asia after stocks there werebattered Monday on concerns over a global trade war. Thoseworries eased during U.S. market hours on Monday, so Asianequities were catching up.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose for a third straightsession, though it was unclear what Trump's final decision ontariffs would be.
"The market is basically grasping for straws around what the(tariff) policy is going to be. Based on the action we saw todayit's hoping it doesn't turn into a trade war," said JonathanMackay, investment strategist at Schroders (LON:SDR) Investment Managementin New York, adding that the news out of the Korean peninsula"helps around the margin."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 9.36 points, or0.04 percent, to 24,884.12, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 7.18points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,728.12, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 41.30 points, or 0.56 percent, to 7,372.01.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.10percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.65 percent.
Emerging market stocks .MSCIEF rose 1.51 percent. MSCI'sbroadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 1.67 percent higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 1.79 percent to snap a four-day losing run.
U.S. Treasury yields were little changed in choppy tradingas optimism grew that Trump may back down from his proposedtariffs, even though he said he would not.
Trump's suggestion that Canada and Mexico could be exemptedif a new North American Free Trade Agreement was reached drovemarket participants to see his tariff plan as leverage in NAFTAtalks.
"It does seem as though Trump has laid out the fact thathe's using these tariffs as a negotiating tactic," said GennadiyGoldberg, an interest rate strategist at TD Securities in NewYork.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR last fell2/32 in price to yield 2.8863 percent, from 2.879 percent lateon Monday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last fell 2/32 in price toyield 3.1531 percent, from 3.151 percent late on Monday.
Treasuries prices were also pressured by strong demand forCVS Health's $40 billion M&A bond, which gave a shot ofconfidence to the U.S. high-grade bond market Tuesday after arecent bout of volatility in the usually rock-solid asset class. crude CLcv1 fell 0.19 percent to $62.45 per barreland Brent LCOcv1 was last at $65.66, up 0.18 percent.
U.S. crude fell in post-settlement trading after crudeinventories rose by 5.7 million barrels compared with analysts'expectations for an increase of 2.7 million barrels, data fromthe American Petroleum Institute showed. 0.03percent
Gold rallied on the weaker dollar. Spot gold XAU= percentto $1,334.29 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 gained 1.20percent to $1,335.70 an ounce.
Copper CMCU3 rose 1.19 percent to $6,992.50 a tonne.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Global assets in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXlGlobal currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVhGlobal bonds dashboard (DO NOT USE UNTIL UPDATE FOUND)
http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0Emerging markets in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugVMSCI All Country World Index Market Cap
http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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