* European shares track most Asian stocks higher
* News of China export surge helps risk appetite
* Euro stable vs dollar; eyes Thursday's ECB policy meeting
By Emelia Sithole-Matarise
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - European shares pushed higher on
Wednesday, tracking gains in most Asian equity markets, as news
of strong Chinese exports sparked a tentative return of risk
appetite while the euro stabilised on options demand.
Oil prices rose 1 percent after Reuters reported that
China's exports grew 50 percent in May from a year earlier, well
above expectations for a 32 percent rise, in a sign that the
economy of the world's second-largest oil user was roaring
ahead. The official data is scheduled to be reported on
Thursday. []
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> rose 0.7 percent
by 0810 GMT, halting three sessions of falls though gains were
tempered by lingering worries that the euro zone debt crisis
could erode economic growth.
"After three days down you get some relief and markets pause
but the well known problems around the debt crisis are still
there and there's no relief from that," said Bernard McAlinden,
investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
"Markets want to see where the end-game for this crisis is
and the implication for the European banking system. They want
to see policy action that's more final and definitive than we've
seen so far," he said.
The gains in European equity markets and most Asian shares
propped up the MSCI's all-country world stock index
<.MIWD00000PUS> to trade 0.2 percent higher.
Japan's Nikkei <> pulled off its lows but still ended
down 1 percent at a six-month closing low as investors worried
about whether Europe can resolve its deficit problems. []
ECB POLICY MOVES AWAITED
Options demand helped the euro <EUR=> hold steady against
the dollar around $1.1955 after initially rising to $1.1968
earlier after the Chinese exports report. But it remained near
four-year lows and analysts said the outlook for the single
currency remains grim.
Sovereign bond yield spreads of countries such as Spain and
Portugal over German benchmarks stayed high, and European banks'
overnight deposits with the European Central Bank hit a record,
highlighting jitters over the health of the financial system.
"Sovereign spreads are widening and banks are depositing
record amounts with the ECB. There's no relief bounce for the
euro and still big animosity towards the single currency," said
Kenneth Broux, market economist at Lloyds Banking Group.
Markets were also unsettled by conflicting signals from top
U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday on the direction of
interest rates, highlighting a split within the central bank as
the U.S. economy shows signs of slowing. []
Investors were also awaiting a European Central Bank meeting
on Thursday to see if it will announce fresh steps to ease
strains from the euro zone's debt crisis. []
The ECB is also expected to publish a new set of economic
forecasts for the region which are likely to signal somewhat
stronger activity, despite worries that debt problems and
government austerity measures will sharply brake growth.
"There are some who believe that the ECB may go as far as to
lower interest rates, although this view is not widely held,"
said a trader for a Japanese trust bank.
Risk-averse investors have streamed into gold, sending
prices for the precious metal to a record dollar high, on
persistent fears that the euro zone debt problems will spread.
"Markets hate uncertainty and at the moment you've got a lot
of it," said Peter Wright, a dealer at Burrell & Co in
Australia.
U.S. stocks rose up to 1.3 percent in volatile trade
overnight, but investors shied away from larger companies which
have significant exposure to Europe. []
(Additional reporting by Sugita Katyal in Singapore, Neal
Armstrong and Harpreet Bhal in London)
(Editing by Jason Webb)
