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World stocks gain on trade optimism

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U.S. deal with UK was first since Trump's tariff pause

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China/U.S. negotiations set for weekend

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Bitcoin touches highest since January; oil rises 1%

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U.S. dollar, Treasury yields pull back

(Updates prices to U.S. morning trading)

By Sinéad Carew and Nell Mackenzie

NEW YORK/LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - MSCI's global

equities index rose slightly on Friday, eyeing a third straight

day of gains, while the dollar lost ground as a U.S. trade deal

with Britain fueled guarded optimism for U.S. tariff

negotiations with other countries including China.

While U.S. President Trump pushed back against the idea that

UK deal could be a template for other trade negotiations,

traders are keenly awaiting a meeting due Saturday in

Switzerland between the U.S. Treasury Secretary and chief trade

negotiator with China's economic tsar.

In the meantime, India on Friday offered to slash its tariff

gap with the U.S. to less than 4% from nearly 13% now, in

exchange for an exemption from "current and potential" tariff

hikes, Reuters reported.

MSCI's broadest index of world shares rose

2.05 points, or 0.24%, to 847.90 while U.S. indexes were higher

and Germany's Dax stock index hit a record high.

Trump said on Friday that 80% tariffs on Chinese goods

"seems right" in his first suggestion of an alternative to the

145% levies he has imposed on China.

A signal that the U.S. is willing to make any cut on

tariffs was incrementally positive, according to Matt Stucky,

chief portfolio manager for equities at Northwestern Mutual

Wealth Management.

"The major drivers in the market in the short term have been

updates on the labor market driving Fed expectations alongside

what's happening with trade negotiations," said Stucky.

But he said he is concerned that the market seems to be

"looking through this as if there's not going to be much

economic disruption or much risk of downside occurring in the

economy over the next year or so from trade disruptions."

On Wall Street at 11:09 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial

Average fell 56.51 points, or 0.14%, to 41,311.94, the

S&P 500 rose 4.61 points, or 0.08%, to 5,668.55 and the

Nasdaq Composite rose 35.78 points, or 0.20%, to

17,963.92. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.43%.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar index, which measures

the currency against six major peers including the euro and the

yen, fell 0.37% to 100.28.

The euro was up 0.36% at $1.1267 while against the

Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.58% to145.07.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin eyed its fourth straight

day of gains, touching its highest level since January after

Thursday's advance, which was the biggest in a month.

Bitcoin gained 0.55% to $103,191.87 while ethereum

rose 6.12% to $2,318.17.

U.S. Treasury yields slipped, with thinner volume than usual

and sentiment still uncertain, as investors looked ahead to

talks between the Trump administration and China.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1

basis points to 4.363%, from 4.373% late on Thursday. The

30-year bond yield rose 0.3 basis points to 4.8343%.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in

step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve,

fell 3.9 basis points to 3.856%, from 3.895% late on Thursday.

In commodities, oil prices rose on Friday and looked poised

for a weekly gain with investors pinning hopes on the upcoming

U.S./China trade talks.

U.S. crude rose 1.35% to $60.72 a barrel and Brent

rose to $63.63 per barrel, up 1.26% on the day.

Gold prices rose as the dollar weakened, while investors

digested the remarks from Trump ahead of the weekend talks.

Spot gold rose 1.04% to $3,339.78 an ounce. U.S. gold

futures rose 1.18% to $3,335.50 an ounce.