(Updates with close of European markets)

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Megacap earnings due this week

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Policy announcement on tap from multiple central banks

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Global shares notched an

intraday record high on Tuesday, on track for a fourth straight

session of gains, buoyed by signs of cooling trade tensions

between the U.S. and China, while investors awaited the Federal

Reserve's policy decisions and digested corporate earnings.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will kick off on Wednesday a string

of policy announcements from global central banks, including

those of Japan, Canada, and Europe, this week.

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates at the meeting,

with markets pricing in a 97.8% chance for a rate cut of 25

basis points, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

Expectations for a lower path of interest rates from the

central bank, along with recent signs trade tensions between the

U.S. and China were easing, have helped boost risk appetite,

sending stocks higher and keeping the 10-year U.S. Treasury

yield moored near multi-month lows.

In addition, the ongoing U.S. government shutdown has led to

a dearth of economic data for investors to parse.

CONTINUED RALLY SEEN IN RISKY ASSETS

With the lack of government data, investors have eyed other

sources to try and gauge the strength of the economy. On

Tuesday, the ADP National Employment Report's inaugural weekly

preliminary estimate showed U.S. private payrolls increased by

an average of 14,250 jobs in the four weeks ending October 11.

"Volatility has been extraordinarily low and kind of, in

some respects, surprising given all of the uncertainties ... but

it seems to be very, very stable, and you're seeing the sort of

continued rally in risky assets," said Subadra Rajappa, head of

U.S. rates strategy at Societe Generale in New York.

"So you have a combination, especially for the Fed meeting,

of lower yields, easier financial conditions, inflation coming

off, the job market remaining somewhat stable as well, so it's

been a tough read on the economy."

The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are largely

expected to keep rates unchanged at their policy meetings.

DOW LEADS GAINS AMONG MAJOR INDEXES

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks rose, boosted in part by a 2.1%

advance in Microsoft ( MSFT ) after reaching a deal that allows

OpenAI to restructure into a public benefit corporation while

giving the megacap company a 27% stake in the ChatGPT maker.

Also providing support was a 5.5% gain in Sherwin-Williams ( SHW )

after the paint and coatings company reported quarterly

earnings that topped expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 281.40 points,

or 0.59%, to 47,826.92, the S&P 500 added 6.05 points, or

0.09%, to 6,881.21, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 50.84

points, or 0.22%, to 23,688.29, with each touching intraday

records.

"It's been pretty impressive from our view that we continue

to hit all-time highs. Tech and AI and the Big Seven have been

driving performance as of late, but earnings have been good as

well," said Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at GuideStone.

Equities have rallied of late as U.S. President Donald Trump and

his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are due to meet on Thursday

to decide on a framework that could pause tougher U.S. tariffs

and China's rare-earth export curbs, easing market worries about

a potential trade war.

Earnings are expected this week from "Magnificent Seven"

heavyweights Microsoft ( MSFT ), Alphabet, Apple ( AAPL ),

Amazon ( AMZN ) and Meta Platforms ( META ). Investors will

closely eye the results to see if they justify lofty valuations.

MORE THAN FOUR IN FIVE S&P COMPANIES BEAT EXPECTATIONS

Of the 180 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings

through Tuesday morning, 86.7% have topped analyst expectations,

according to LSEG data.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe advanced

2.18 points, or 0.22%, to a record 1,014.68 while the

pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.22%

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

1.6 basis points to 3.981%.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies, fell 0.09% to 98.68, with the

euro up 0.15% at $1.1661.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.46% to

152.16 after comments from a Japanese minister and U.S. Treasury

Secretary Scott Bessent eased some concerns about more expansive

fiscal and monetary policy in the country.

Sterling weakened 0.45% to $1.3275.

U.S. crude fell 2.07% to $60.04 a barrel, and Brent

fell to $64.26 per barrel, down 2.07% as investors

assessed the effect of U.S. sanctions on Russia's two biggest

oil companies along with a potential OPEC+ plan to raise output.