* Italy, some U.S. states prepare for relaxing lockdown
* Oil tumbles again as storage concerns linger
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh (Updates prices, changes comment, dateline; previous LONDON)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) - Global stock markets rose on Monday as investors cheered news that more countries and U.S. states were looking to ease lockdowns and the Bank of Japan expanded its stimulus program, while the price of oil continued to crumble as storage runs out.
The U.S. dollar fell as risk-prone traders cheered lockdown news even as health experts warned that not enough coronavirus testing was in place in the United States. From Italy to New Zealand, governments announced the easing of restrictions, while Britain said it was too early to relax them there. Bank of Japan kicked off a week of central bank meetings by pledging to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds, continuing a trend of historic stimulus announcements to offset the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank meet later in the week, with the ECB expected to increase the size of its bond buying program.
"It's central bank week and investor sentiment is on a firm footing," said Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO Capital Markets.
"This is purely a case of 'don't fight the central banks,'" he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 161.53 points, or 0.68%, to 23,936.8, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 26.11 points, or 0.92%, to 2,862.85 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 108.28 points, or 1.25%, to 8,742.80.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 1.29% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 1.28%.
After more than a month of lockdowns, some countries and U.S. states are gradually moving to ease restrictions that have in some cases proven effective, believing the peak of the virus infection rate has passed.
Although trillions of dollars in stimulus have helped the S&P 500 recover nearly 30% from its March lows, some analysts say more gains may be capped as the economic damage grows, unless there is progress on treatments for the disease.
"There are so many things that can go wrong in the next six months," said Marc Chaikin, founder of Chaikin Analytics in Philadelphia, adding that "history suggests that bear markets end with a whimper and not a bang."
Emerging market stocks rose 1.78%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 1.88% higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 2.71%.
In a busy week for U.S. corporate earnings, Apple AAPL.O , Amazon AMZN.O , Facebook FB.O , Microsoft MSFT.O , Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) CAT.N , Ford F.N , General Electric (NYSE:GE) GE.N and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) CVX.N are expected to report.
Analysts expect a 15% decline in S&P 500 first-quarter earnings, with profits for the energy sector estimated to have slumped more than 60%, raising fears of debt defaults.
OIL DROPS FURTHER
Oil prices weakened sharply on continued concern about oversupply and a lack of storage space. The front-month contract was trading at lower-than-usual volumes as traders moved to later months in futures' contracts.
"The market is very concerned about a repeat of negative pricing as the Cushing storage and delivery hub saturates," Harry Tchilinguirian, global oil strategist at BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) in London, told the Reuters Global Oil Forum.
"The shift of open interest away from June will have negative consequences for the liquidity of the contract, potentially leading to greater volatility in its price," he said.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 27.45% to $12.29 per barrel and Brent LCOc1 was at $19.57, down 8.72% on the day.
The U.S. dollar dropped as the broader upbeat mood encouraged investors to move into other currencies.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.2%, with the euro EUR= up 0.18% to $1.0839.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.27% versus the greenback at 107.29 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2408, up 0.33% on the day.
U.S. Treasury yields rose, with the benchmark 10-year note US10YT=RR last down 15/32 in price to yield 0.6415%, from 0.596% late on Friday.
The 2-year note US2YT=RR last fell 2/32 in price to yield 0.2406%, from 0.216%.
Spot gold XAU= dropped 1.0% to $1,709.73 an ounce.
The United States and European Union both release first-quarter economic growth numbers this week, while the influential U.S. ISM manufacturing survey is also due.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ MSCI world equity index
https://tmsnrt.rs/2VUwVsE
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>