* U.S. dollar edges off 10-month low
* Nasdaq, S&P 500 hit records as European indexes gain
* U.S. yields little changed ahead of ECB meeting
* Oil rises on surprisingly big U.S. inventory draws (Updates with afternoon trading)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) - A gauge of global stocks climbed for a ninth straight session on Wednesday as earnings season heated up in the United States and Europe, while the dollar bounced modestly off 10-month lows.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq tallied intraday record highs in the U.S., picking up from strong performances by major European stock indexes, with the tech sector giving a boost in both regions.
After decent gains in Asia on the back of positive signs from global economic powerhouse China, MSCI's world stocks index .MIWD00000PUS looked set for a ninth day of gains which would mark its longest winning streak since October 2015. The global index gained 0.40 percent, setting a record high for a fifth straight session.
"In the U.S., the earnings season seems to be surprising a little bit on the upside," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland.
"What we have seen recently in the economic reports suggests it should be even better overseas ... So we have come to the point where things looks pretty good in the U.S. and it looks even better in prospect overseas, so what's not to like about equities."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 31.38 points, or 0.15 percent, to 21,606.11, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 9.59 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,470.2 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 40.18 points, or 0.63 percent, to 6,384.49. Stanley MS.N shares climbed 2.4 pct after the bank's profit report. Vertex VRTX.O soared 20.8 pct after stunning cystic fibrosis drug data. all was rosy in earnings season, as IBM (NYSE:IBM) IBM.N shares dropped 4.3 pct after its report. a week into the heart of second-quarter reporting season, S&P 500 earnings are now expected to rise 8.7 percent, up from an expectation of an 8-percent rise from the start of July, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.71 percent. Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML's ASML.AS shares gained 5.8 pct after the firm's quarterly report, lifting the region's tech sector .SX8P to its biggest daily percentage gain since September. would like to see those stronger earnings coming through and Europe really turning a corner," said Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments.
The dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies a day after the greenback's sharp decline sparked by a fresh setback to President Donald Trump's domestic agenda.
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.16 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.27 percent to $1.1521.
Investors remained wary of pushing the U.S. currency lower before meetings this week with the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. Market watchers will be looking to see if the recent strength of the euro and the yen influence their policy outlooks. Treasury yields were little changed in advance of Thursday's ECB meeting. 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.2713 percent, from 2.263 percent late on Tuesday.
Oil prices jumped after a U.S. report showed a bigger weekly draw than forecast in crude and gasoline stocks along with a surprise drop in distillate inventories. crude CLcv1 rose 1.31 percent to $47.01 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $49.53, up 1.41 percent on the day.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic: World FX rates in 2017
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Global assets in 2017
http://reut.rs/1WAiOSC Global bonds dashboard
http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0 Global market cap
http://reut.rs/2mcp7T1 Emerging markets in 2017
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
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