* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh (Updates to afternoon)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Tech led the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq higher and crude prices extended their rally on Wednesday, as hopes of potential COVID-19 were tempered by spiking coronavirus infections and the looming threat of new lockdowns.
The blue-chip Dow was lower.
A return to tech-focused market leaders, which thrived during COVID shutdowns but sold off earlier in the week as investors pivoted to economically-sensitive cyclical stocks, put the Nasdaq out front.
"The magnitude of the moves into cyclicals was probably too far too fast for a two-day move," said Joseph Sroka, chief investment officer at NovaPoint in Atlanta. "It's not that there's worries about tech it's that the other sectors have generated more optimism."
The prospect of a return to normal appeared to grow after Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE)'s PFE.N announcement on Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed with BioNTech BNTX.O , showed a 90% success rate in preventing infection during trials. on one side of the valley looking at the other side," Sroka added. "And while COVID is still around and hospitalizations are increasing, the idea of a vaccine coming to market allows investors to look across the valley to the recovery in the other side."
The news stoked investors' risk appetite across the board, and sent oil prices, building on two straight sessions of sharp gains, higher.
But that optimism could be waning. The Dow Jones Transportation index .DJT , seen by many as a barometer of broader economic health, was sharply lower.
While on Tuesday the yield of benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasuries reached the highest level since March, The U.S. bond market was closed on Wednesday in observance of Veterans' Day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 97.35 points, or 0.33%, to 29,323.57, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.83 points, or 0.45%, to 3,561.36 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 186.34 points, or 1.61%, to 11,740.20.
The momentum of vaccine hopes and encouraging comments from European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde boosted European shares higher for the third straight session, offsetting worries over spiking coronavirus infections. pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 1.08% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.55%.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.19%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.17% higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 1.78%.
Crude oil prices edged higher, extended their rally and building on gains sparked by the notion of reviving demand and a steeper-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories. crude CLcv1 rose 0.22% to settle at $41.45 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 settled at $43.80 per barrel, up 0.44% on the day.
The dollar gained ground against a basket of currencies and the safe-haven yen weakened on hopes that a medical solution to the pandemic could spark economic growth. dollar index .DXY rose 0.33%, with the euro EUR= down 0.36% to $1.1772.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.15% versus the greenback at 105.49 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.3215, down 0.42% on the day.
Gold prices slid, hurt by a stronger dollar and increased risk appetite which drew investors away from the safe-haven metal. gold XAU= dropped 0.6% to $1,864.79 an ounce.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Global assets
http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Emerging markets
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap
http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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