New York — A global equity index surged to a record high and the dollar gained on Monday, spurred by relief that Hurricane Irma weakened to a tropical storm and that North Korea’s anniversary celebrations on the weekend passed without a new missile test. Gold prices fell as did the price of benchmark German and US Treasury debt as demand slipped for safe-haven assets and investors took on more risk after North Korea marked its founding on Saturday without new provocations. Ranked as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic, Irma hit a wide swath of Florida on Sunday before being downgraded to a tropical storm. While heavy flooding swamped Miami and other cities, the state’s largest city was spared the brunt of the storm. "For now, we’re seeing a bit of a relief rally. It does appear that the worst-case scenario for Florida has been evaded," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York. MSCI’s all country world stock ind...
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