(Adds oil settlement prices)
* Brent, U.S. crude at highest since March 8
* Wall St cuts losses as Trump talks deregulation, infrastructure
* Trump-Xi meeting is top-of-mind for traders
* Energy shares move up as oil prices jump
By Rodrigo Campos and Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to a near one-month high on Tuesday on expectations of lower U.S. crude inventories, while the dollar slid as investors remained cautious ahead of meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The upcoming French presidential election also kept investors cautious as political risk concerns remained active ahead of the Trump-Xi meetings this Thursday and Friday.
U.S. stocks traded little changed, following modest gains in Europe, with the energy and industrials sectors helping buoy Wall Street and European shares.
Global and U.S. crude oil benchmarks rose to their highest since March 8. They have recovered 8 percent since lows late last month on expectations the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers would cut output. compliance is still holding better than we expected with next week's release of various monthly agency reports likely to confirm," Jim Ritterbusch, president of Chicago-based energy advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a note.
U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 79 cents to settle up at $51.03 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 settled up $1.05 to $54.17.
The American Petroleum Institute will report inventory data at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration will announce official figures on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT. API/S
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.04 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.05 percent to $1.0663. The Japanese yen JPY= strengthened 0.16 percent versus the greenback at 110.73 per dollar.
Industrial and material stocks got a boost after Trump said the U.S. infrastructure bill may top $1 trillion and that his administration was seeking a major "haircut" on the Dodd-Frank banking regulation, rekindling some of his campaign promises. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 28.93 points, or 0.14 percent, to 20,679.14. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.11 points, or -0.00 percent, to 2,358.73 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 1.36 points, or 0.02 percent, to 5,893.32. Europe, the pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.22 percent to close at 1,497.77 while MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.01 percent. U.S. Treasury yields touched their lowest in more than five weeks before edging higher to trade little changed on doubts about Trump's ability to boost fiscal stimulus. on benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR dropped to 2.314 percent, their lowest since Feb. 24, and last traded up 1/32 in price to yield 2.348 percent.
South Africa's rand and government bonds recovered after a sharp selloff following S&P Global Ratings' decision to cut the country's credit rating to sub-investment grade, while stocks rose led by bullion shares. rand ZAR=D3 was 1.06 percent stronger at 13.5250 per dollar after falling earlier in the session to a near 3-months low of 13.9400.
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http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Global assets in 2017
http://reut.rs/1WAiOSC Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Global bonds dashboard
http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0 Global market cap
http://reut.rs/2mcp7T1
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