* All three major U.S. stock indexes gain
* Dollar sinks to lowest since April 2018
* Stimulus check negotiations continue in Washington
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh (Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended the session in positive territory and the dollar dipped to its lowest in more than two years on Wednesday, the penultimate trading day in a remarkable year of pandemic, recession and recovery.
All three major U.S. stock indexes gained modestly, but short of all-time closing highs as recently enacted coronavirus relief and the ongoing rollout of COVID-19 vaccines fed optimism over economic recovery in 2021.
"It is light action today," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago. "It's a little bit of 'Hey, we are going to finish the year strong,' everybody feels good and we will see what happens come January 4."
"But at some point we are going to start to have volatility again related to COVID," Kinahan added. "This is not a story that is going away in the first six months of 2021."
That sentiment was shared by Matthew Keator, managing partner in the Keator Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts.
"My anticipation is that (the economic rebound) will probably be more robust in the latter part of 2021," Keator said. "Once there's the sense of an all-clear sign, we would anticipate a robust response from the consumer," Keator added.
Britain approved a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca AZN.L in the latest development in the rapid progression, testing, approval and deployment of drugs to battle the disease. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 73.89 points, or 0.24%, to 30,409.56, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5 points, or 0.13%, to 3,732.04 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 19.78 points, or 0.15%, to 12,870.00.
European stocks reversed gains to end a five-day winning streak, closing lower as investors locked in year-end gains. pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 0.34% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.35%.
Emerging market stocks rose 1.73%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 1.85% higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 lost 0.45%.
The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened on Wednesday afternoon as traders bought longer-dated debt to rebalance their portfolios ahead of the month-end. 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 4/32 in price to yield 0.9231%, from 0.935% late on Tuesday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last rose 12/32 in price to yield 1.6576%, from 1.674% late on Tuesday.
The dollar fell to the lowest since April 2018 against a basket of world currencies as investors bet on more fiscal support and positioned for year-end in light trading volume. dollar index .DXY fell 0.38%, with the euro EUR= up 0.38% at $1.2293.
The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.30% versus the greenback at 103.28 per dollar, while the British pound GBP= was last trading at $1.3614, up 0.84% on the day.
Crude oil prices advanced on the back of the weaker dollar and a dip in U.S. inventories, but gains were capped by dimming hopes of a demand rebound. crude CLc1 futures gained 0.83% to settle at $48.40 per barrel and Brent LCOc1 settled at $51.34 per barrel, up 0.49% on the day.
Gold prices rose, countering a dip in the greenback, although global COVID-19 vaccine rollouts and increased risk appetite limited the safe-haven metal's gains.
Spot gold XAU= added 0.8% to $1,892.06 an ounce.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ GRAPHIC-Emerging markets
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV GRAPHIC-World FX rates
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh GRAPHIC-MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap
http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j GRAPHIC-Global assets in 2020
http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>