(Adds details, updates prices)
* Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields hit 1.333%
* MSCI world index falls 0.1%
* Yen hits five-month low, Bitcoin climbs above $51,000
* Brent crude prices up 0.9% at 13-month high
* Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
By Danilo Masoni and Tom Westbrook
MILAN/SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The rally in stock markets stalled on Wednesday as a surge in U.S. Treasury yields on optimism about a swift economic recovery put pressure on lofty company valuations.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields reached a one-year high to trade near pre-pandemic levels, as vaccine progress and encouraging economic data begin to drive investor focus on inflation.
The MSCI world equity benchmark .MIWD00000PUS fell 0.1% by 0908 GMT, as a weaker start of trading in Europe offset a brief surge in Asia overnight. index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, ended flat on Tuesday to snap 11 straight positive sessions.
S&P 500 ESc1 and Nasdaq NQc1 futures were both little changed. Ten-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR , up nearly 40 basis points this year, rose as far as 1.3330% before easing to 1.2838%.
"Regarding the bond market sell-off, things are finally starting to get serious as real yields are on the rise, driven by bets ... of central banks tightening sooner than previously expected," said Arne Petimezas, analysts at AFS in Amsterdam. "Risk-assets are now becoming vulnerable to a pull-back."
In the short term, however, investors expect central banks to keep monetary policy loose and minutes later on Wednesday from the U.S Federal Reserve's January meeting are expected to reinforce that view.
"Recent remarks by (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell and several other Fed officials show that the FOMC is very comfortable with its current policy stance," wrote UniCredit strategists.
The gap between 10-year and two-year U.S. yields US2US10=TWEB also reached its widest in nearly three years in anticipation of short-term rates going nowhere. US/
Besides a cooling in stock-market exuberance, gold and the Japanese yen JPY= have been other casualties of rising rates.
Gold, which pays no income and was last down 0.5% on the day, tends to fall when yields rise, and it touched a two-week low on Wednesday. GOL/
The yen is sensitive to U.S. rates because Japanese yields are anchored and higher U.S. returns can attract investment flows out of yen and into dollars. It fell to a five-month low against the dollar and has lost 2.7% this year. euro EUR=EBS fell 0.2% to $1.2075. Sterling GBP=D3 , which has been surging as vaccinations roll out rapidly across the United Kingdom, was last down 0.1% at $1.3892. The dollar index =USD rose 0.05%.
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP , which some see as a hedge against inflation, rose to a high of $51,300 and was last up 3.6% after first crossing $50,000 on Tuesday. Analysts, however, warned of risks of tighter regulation and further volatility ahead in the cryptocurrency market.
Gains in commodity prices have been another big driver of inflation expectations. They've caught a further boost from a Texas cold snap that has shut down about a fifth of U.S. oil production and sent energy prices higher. O/R
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 0.9% to $63.9 a barrel, their highest in 13 months. U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose 0.7% to $60.45 a barrel. Copper prices CMCU3 were around their highest level since 2012.
Global miner Rio Tinto RIO.L rode higher commodity prices to post its best annual earnings since 2011 and declare a record dividend. That sent its shares surging to a record high.
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http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap
http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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