* Spain, Ireland, Belgium have solid debt sales
* Euro hits two-week high against the dollar
* U.S. stocks jump over 1 pct, oil up 2 pct
* Disappointing US, German data shrugged off
(Updates with European markets close)
By Walter Brandimarte
NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) - The euro and U.S. stocks
rallied more than 1 percent on Tuesday after successful
government bond sales by some of the weakest members of the
euro zone eased fears about Europe's debt problems.
Oil prices jumped nearly 2 percent, and European shares
closed up for a fifth straight session as solid demand for
Irish and Spanish government debt calmed investors' nerves, a
day after Moody's downgraded Greece's credit rating to junk
status.
Belgium also held a successful bond auction on Tuesday.
Yields paid at the auctions, however, were still sharply
higher than a month ago, signaling difficult times ahead for
debt-ridden European countries.
"The more the market starts to see that the credit markets
are beginning to return to normalcy, the better it becomes for
the euro," said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency
research at GFT in New York.
The single European currency <EUR=> rose as high as $1.2344
on the electronic trading platform EBS, its strongest level
since June 1. It remained up 0.9 percent at $1.2332 later.
Stocks rose across the board as investors felt it was safer
to take on risk, despite some disappointing economic data in
the United States and Germany.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 133.92
points, or 1.31 percent, to 10,324.81, while the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 15.51 points, or 1.42 percent, to
1,105.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 41.60
points, or 1.85 percent, at 2,285.56.
Industrial and technology sectors, which have high exposure
to Europe, led the U.S. advance. Shares of plane maker Boeing
Co <BA.N> and Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N>, the heavy equipment
maker, both jumped about 3 percent.
The move is "all related to the euro. It determines how the
stock market behaves," said Joseph Battipaglia, market
strategist at Stifel Nicolaus in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
Semiconductor stocks helped boost the tech sector and lift
the Nasdaq after TSMC <2330.TW> and UMC <2303.TW>, the world's
two largest contract chip makers, forecast chip demand growing
in the coming months amid an improving global economy and
rising sales of new PCs and other consumer gadgets.
[]
The Philadelphia semiconductor index <.SOXX> surged 3.9
percent.
Gains were just modestly trimmed after a report showed U.S.
homebuilder sentiment fell in June by the sharpest amount since
the height of the financial crisis following the expiration of
a popular tax credit for home buyers. []
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares ended up 0.7 percent at 1,037.68 points, its highest
close since May 13.
Banks were among the biggest gainers <.SX7P>. BNP Paribas
<BNPP.PA>, Banco Santander <SAN.MC>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>
and Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> rose between 2.1 and 4.2
percent.
European stocks largely ignored a slump in a closely
watched indicator of German investor sentiment. The ZEW
economic think-tank's indicator fell in June at its fastest
rate since 2008, hit by concerns over the European debt woes.
[]
"The market had got to a point where sentiment was weak and
valuations were attractive," said Graham Secker, equity
strategist at Morgan Stanley.
World stocks <.MIWD00000PUS> gained 1.0 percent, up for a
sixth day, while emerging market stocks <.MSCIEF> climbed 0.8
percent, according to benchmark MSCI indexes.
Prices of U.S. Treasuries fell as demand for safe-haven
assets decreased. Benchmark 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> were down
11/32 in price, with the yield at 3.3006 percent.
U.S. crude oil prices <CLc1> jumped 1.89 percent to $76.54
per barrel as investors seemed to be more confident about the
prospects for a global economic recovery.
Despite the improved appetite for risk, gold prices
remained on the rise. Spot gold prices <XAU=> traded 0.92
percent higher at $1,232.30 an ounce.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
