* S&P 500, Nasdaq end up; Dow flat
* Brent oil again tops $70/bbl
* Treasury yields fall in line with Japanese govt bond yields (Updates with closing U.S. market levels)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - World stock markets rose on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 getting a lift from upbeat earnings from companies such as Netflix, while the U.S. dollar slipped to a three-year low against a basket of major currencies.
In U.S. stocks, Netflix NFLX.O closed up 10.0 percent and hit a record high after the video-streaming pioneer beat Wall Street targets for new subscribers in the fourth quarter.
Insurer Travelers TRV.N also rose after earnings topped estimates. The majority of S&P 500 results so far this earnings season have been stronger than expected. we like the trend of earnings, we think they will continue to be good and our forecasts for the rest of the year look good," said Mike Baele, managing director at U.S. Bank Private Client Wealth Management in Portland, Oregon.
"It is not surprising the market is taking comfort in these good numbers."
Keeping some of the enthusiasm in check were disappointing results from Procter & Gamble PG.N and others.
Also, U.S. President Donald Trump late Monday slapped steep import tariffs on washing machines and solar panels. That put a cloud over global trade, though it lifted shares of some U.S. solar companies and of appliance maker Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) WHR.N Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 3.79 points, or 0.01 percent, to 26,210.81, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 6.16 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,839.13 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 52.26 points, or 0.71 percent, to 7,460.29.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.12 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.49 percent. showed euro zone consumer confidence jumped much more than expected in January, underlining the strong momentum in the euro zone economy.
That pushed the dollar index to a three-year low. dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, was down 0.32 percent at 90.115, after slipping as low as 90.063, its lowest since December 2014.
Some investors speculated that the recent bearish move in the dollar may be coming to a close amid concerns over the U.S. stance on global trade.
Also in the foreign exchange market, Britain's pound topped $1.40 GBP=D4 for the first time since voters there chose in 2016 to leave the European Union.
Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.3997, up 0.09 percent on the day.
Brent crude inched above $70 a barrel for the first time in a week before settling just below that level. Healthy world economic growth prospects helped to boost oil. International Monetary Fund on Monday revised upward its forecast for world economic growth to 3.9 percent for 2018 and 2019, a 0.2 percentage point increase from its last update in October. crude futures LCOc1 gained 93 cents to settle at $69.96 after rising above $70 during the session. U.S. crude futures CLc1 climbed 90 cents to settle at $64.47.
U.S. Treasury debt yields weakened, moving in tandem with Japanese government bond yields, after the Bank of Japan kept interest rate targets unchanged and its top official quashed speculation of a move away from an easy monetary policy. 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 13/32 in price to yield 2.6168 percent, from 2.663 percent late on Monday.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ MSCI, Nikkei datastream chart
http://reut.rs/2sSBRiD Global assets in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Emerging markets in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
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