* Wall St rises on recovery hopes, Nasdaq positive on year
* U.S. dollar gains against yen as risk appetite grows
* Oil rallies to around four-month highs
By Walter Brandimarte and Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - Global stocks and the U.S.
dollar gained on Thursday as investors looked beyond dire U.S.
economic data for signs of recovery in the world economy.
U.S. crude oil prices rose to nearly four-month highs,
boosting emerging-market assets, on expectations that
government efforts to stimulate the economy and stabilize the
financial system might be working.
U.S. Treasury prices also rose after five sessions,
benefited from a decent debt auction and expectations related
to the Federal Reserve's purchases of government bonds.
A downward revision in the U.S. fourth-quarter gross
domestic product, as well as a record-high number of weekly
jobless claims, did not surprise economists, and were actually
seen as a sign that the world's largest economy is bottoming.
For more on the data see [].
"Obviously the tide is shifting. We've gone from every
piece of news being incrementally bad to not as bad as
expectations," said Stephanie Giroux, Chief Investment
Strategist at TD Ameritrade in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> jumped 174.75
points, or 2.25 percent, to 7,924.56, while the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 18.98 points, or 2.33 percent,
at 832.86. Shares of retailers rose after electronics retailer
Best Buy <BBY.N> reported results and outlook which topped
market expectations.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> climbed 58.05 points, or
3.80 percent, at 1,587.00 -- turning positive for the
year-to-date.
The MSCI World index <.MIWD00000PUS>, a gauge of global
stocks performance, rose 1.41 percent to its highest level in
more than six weeks. The MSCI stock index for emerging markets
<.MSCIEF> gained 2.11 percent.
Stock markets have been in a buoyant mood this week
following a U.S. plan to persuade private firms to help rid
banks of up to $1 trillion in toxic assets.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday
outlined new "rules of the game" in shaping regulatory reform
designed to curb risk-taking on Wall Street in a bid to
restrain the type of behavior that led to the current credit
crisis. []
Demand for U.S. Treasuries also rose in a $24 billion
auction of seven-year notes, allowing the benchmark 10-year
U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> to rise 15/32, with the yield at
2.7426 percent.
RISING APPETITE FOR RISK
The U.S. dollar and the euro rebounded against the yen as
investors grew more comfortable buying risky assets such as
stocks and commodities, dampening the Japanese currency's
safe-haven appeal.
The dollar strengthened against a basket of major
trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY>
up 0.57 percent at 84.176.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar <JPY=> rose 1.23
percent to 98.78. The euro <EUR=> weakened 0.51 percent against
the greenback at $1.3513.
The U.S. currency had tumbled on Wednesday after U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was open to
expanding the use of the International Monetary Fund's special
drawing rights, appearing to endorse an idea put forward by
China. It later recovered after Geithner reiterated that he
expected the dollar to remain the top reserve currency for a
long time.
Also benefiting from investors' increased appetite for
risk, U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> settled up $1.57, or 2.98
percent, at $54.34 a barrel. It was the highest settlement
since Nov. 28.
Other commodities also rallied, with the Reuters/Jefferies
CRB Index <.CRB> of 19 commodities futures rising 0.6 percent.
"We are seeing some optimism, we are seeing some return of
risk appetite, both of which we have not seen for a while,"
said Mike Wittner, Societe Generale's global head of oil
research.
(Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Rodrigo
Campos in New York)
