By Marc Jones and David Gaffen
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A landmark deal to give global investors easier access to China's $3.9 trillion stock market helped lift world share markets to their highest level in more than a month on Monday.
Wall Street edged higher, taking major averages further into record territory as quarterly earnings season comes to a close.
In Russia, tough talk from President Vladimir Putin and a move by the central bank to abandon rules-based currency intervention sent the ruble soaring.
Chinese shares jumped 2.5 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed almost 1 percent overnight after the officials announced a Nov. 17 start date for a long-awaited tie-up that will allow global investors to buy Chinese stocks from Hong Kong. Shares in those markets were the strongest among major world markets.
In currency trading, the high-flying dollar took a step back as some investors took a pause before pushing the dollar's gains further. The dollar index has risen 12 percent since May in a rapid move in favor of the U.S. currency. [FRX/]
"A continuation of profit-taking in the dollar index has largely dictated price action in currency markets, though we believe the pause experienced in the DXY is technical in nature versus deeper fundamental issues," said Scott Smith, senior market analyst at Cambridge Mercantile Group in Calgary, Alberta.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 87.754.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 24.13 points, or 0.14 percent, at 17,598.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.02 points, or 0.20 percent, at 2,035.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 8.68 points, or 0.19 percent, at 4,641.21.
MSCI's All-World index, which spans 45 countries, rose 0.4 percent to hit its highest level since late September. European shares were up 0.7 percent.
RUBLE RALLY
There was no sign that recent volatility in Russia's ruble was about to let up. After dabbling with the idea last week, Russia's central bank formally abolished structured currency market interventions.
The move means it is likely to act more unpredictably, and probably forcefully, going forward. Shortly before the announcement, Putin had said there was no reason for the slide in the Russian currency.
After a dramatic fall in the previous week and volatile swings of 6 percent on Friday, the ruble was last up almost 3 percent at 45.32 to the dollar.
U.S. Treasuries sold off modestly, with the 10-year yield rising to 2.34 percent on a 9/32 point decline in the price of the benchmark.
Oil prices initially rose on renewed political tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine. But they subsequently gave up their gains, with Brent crude off 0.8 percent at $82.70, and U.S. light crude off 1.3 percent at $77.63.
(Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Dan Grebler)
