World stocks near record high

TOKYO, June 9 (Reuters): World stock prices held near record highs on Wednesday, while US bond yields flirted with their lowest levels in a month, as investors bet the Federal Reserve is some way off from tapering its economic stimulus.

MSCI's all-country world index last stood at 716.55, after hitting an intraday high of 718.19 on Tuesday, led by gains in Europe.

European stocks are expected to open almost flat, with Euro Stoxx futures up 0.1 per cent and Britain's FTSE futures down 0.1 per cent in early trade.

In Asia, the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked down 0.20 per cent and Japan's Nikkei average shed 0.28 per cent.

On Wall Street on Tuesday, the S&P500 was steady and near its record high. The 10-year US debt yield, on the other hand, fell to 1.513 per cent, its lowest level in a month, and down a quarter of a percentage point from a 14-month peak of 1.776 per cent hit in March. It last stood at 1.533 per cent, almost flat so far on Wednesday.

"As the recovery in the job market is contained, any discussion at the Fed on tapering is unlikely to gain momentum, even if it starts soon," said Naokazu Koshimizu, senior rates strategist at Nomura Securities.