* Base metal prices fall again as dollar gains
* Euro under pressure as ECB seen easing next week
* Pfizer set to buy Allergan (N:AGN_pa) for $160 bln
(Updates prices, adds U.S. markets, changes dateline from
LONDON)
NEW YORK, Nov 23 (Reuters) - A measure of commodity prices
hit its lowest in 13 years before bouncing back as the
expectation of higher interest rates in the United States lifted
the dollar to its highest in eight months.
Stocks in major markets ticked lower after five days of
gains and the euro fell as low as $1.0599, a seven-month low as
the prospect of more policy easing by the European Central Bank
was compounded by a security lockdown in Brussels.
Wall Street opened higher, led by gains in cyclical sectors
and consumer stocks, while utilities were once again pressured
by the view that the Federal Reserve will soon begin a
tightening monetary policy cycle.
The healthcare sector was also in focus after Pfizer PFE.N
said it would buy Botox maker Allergan AGN.N in a
record-breaking deal worth $160 billion to cut its U.S. tax bill
by moving its headquarters to Ireland.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 19.81 points,
or 0.11 percent, to 17,843.62, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.34
points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,094.51 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 18.41 points, or 0.36 percent, to 5,123.33.
An MSCI measure of stocks in major markets globally
.MIWD00000PUS dipped less than 0.1 percent and a broad gauge
of European stocks .FTEU3 dropped 0.2 percent.
The Thomson Reuters Core Commodity CRB index .TRJCRB hit
its lowest since November 2002. The gauge is down more than 20
percent so far this year.
London nickel slid more than 6 percent to its lowest since
2003 and copper fell almost 3 percent to its cheapest in more
than six years. Lead touched its lowest since 2010 while
aluminium hit the weakest since 2009.
Gold and silver also fell.
"The biggest factor here is the dollar," said Hans van Cleef
a senior energy economist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam. "It is
having an impact on all major commodities at the moment."
"More and more investors are watching (commodities sell off)
and sentiment therefore gets more jittery."
Against a basket of currencies .DXY , the U.S. dollar
firmed 0.3 percent to 99.83.
Argentine assets got a boost from the election victory of
pro-business opposition candidate Mauricio Macri, who has
promised to open up the ailing economy to investors.
U.S. Treasuries prices fell slightly as investors reduced
their debt holdings in advance of an auction of $26 billion in
two-year notes, part of this week's $90 billion in fixed-rate
coupon supply.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR were up 1/32 to yield
2.2588 percent, down 1 basis point from Friday.
Oil prices reversed direction to trade slightly higher.
Saudi Arabia said the kingdom remained ready to work with other
producing and exporting countries to stabilise prices.
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Global assets in 2015 http://link.reuters.com/dub25t
Currencies vs dollar http://link.reuters.com/tak27s
Commodities performance http://link.reuters.com/rac73w
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