GLOBAL MARKETS-Pfizer vaccine hopes lift world stocks; US$, gold on the defensive

two of the three major U.S. stock indexes pared earlier gains by the end of Friday, with the S&P 500 little changed at 3,483.81, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 112 points, or 0.4%, to close at 28,606.31. The Nasdaq Composite reversed into losses to end 42 points lower, down 0.4%, at 11,671.56. Shares of Pfizer jumped 3.8%, and the stock was the biggest contributor to the S&P 500's gains on Friday.

NEW YORK: Global shares bounced on Friday while safe havens such as the dollar were on the defensive as investors welcomed news that drugmaker Pfizer Inc could have a coronavirus vaccine ready in the United States by the end of this year.

But concerns that a teetering recovery in the world economy could be scuttled by a resurgence in the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and the United States kept oil prices under pressure, and 10-year German bond yields near seven-month lows.