* Euro hit 12-week high on data, month-end buying
* Earnings, initial claims provide support to equities
* Treasuries sloppy with 10-year yield at 3 pct
(Recasts lead; changes byline, dateline, previous LONDON)
By Jennifer Ablan and Dominic Lau
NEW YORK/LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Robust quarterly
earnings from U.S. and European companies drove up world stocks
early Thursday, while the euro hit a 12-week high against the
dollar on better-than-expected economic data in Europe.
Optimism about a sustained economic recovery grew following
results from Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N>, Rolls Royce Plc <RR.L>
and BAE Systems Plc <BAES.L>, against the backdrop of improving
economic figures.
A jump in euro zone economic sentiment to a 28-month high
and a decline in German unemployment supported the euro's
gains. For details, see [] and []
For its part, U.S. initial jobless claims dropped by 11,000
to a seasonally adjusted 457,000 in the latest week, versus the
forecast of 459,000, the government said. []
Global equities measured by the MSCI All-Country World
Index <.MIWD00000PUS> added 0.41 percent, and the Thomson
Reuters global stock index <.TRXFLDGLPU> put on 0.47 percent.
"Second-quarter results are better than expected, and it
supports the market," said Emmanuel Morano, head of equity
management at fund management firm UFG-LFP in Paris.
He added: "The big question is, is this a pause in the
economic recovery or are we heading for a brutal landing? The
bond market seems to be pricing in the pessimistic scenario,
while equities send a more optimistic signal. Who's wrong?
Tomorrow's U.S. GDP figure should shed light on this."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 23.31
points, or 0.22 percent, at 10,521.19. The benchmark Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 1.52 points, or 0.14 percent, at
1,107.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 2.64
points, or 0.12 percent, at 2,261.92.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> advanced 0.15
percent, helped by improving the euro zone sentiment. But
Tokyo's Nikkei average <> ended down 0.6 percent after
hitting a two-week closing high the previous session.
'EUROPEAN RESILIENCE'
All told, U.S. economic data have shown pockets of
softening. Wednesday's weak U.S. durable goods figures added to
concerns about the outlook for the world's largest economy.
The Fed's Beige Book, a summary of national economic
conditions, also showed activity was not as robust in a few
districts and lost steam in recent weeks.
California's declaration of a state of emergency over its
finances also hurt the dollar.
In New York trading, the dollar was down against a basket
of major trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index
<.DXY> off 0.74 percent at 81.57 from a previous session close
of 82.179.
The euro <EUR=> advanced 0.75 percent at $1.309 from a
previous session close of $1.2992. Against the Japanese yen,
the dollar <JPY=> was down 0.42 percent at 87.02 from a
previous session close of 87.390.
"Economic resilience in Europe, particularly in Germany,
despite the formidable sovereign credit headwinds, continues to
fuel an unwinding of bets against the euro and push it higher
across the board," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at
Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Treasury debt prices were mixed.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 2/32, with the yield at 3.00 percent. The 2-year U.S.
Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was up 1/32, with the yield at 0.6053
percent. At the longer end of the curve, the 30-year U.S.
Treasury bond <US30YT=RR> fell 28/32, with the yield at 4.122
percent.
In energy and commodities prices, U.S. light sweet crude oil
<CLc1> rose $1.21, or 1.57 percent, to $78.20 per barrel, and
spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $1.45, or 0.12 percent, to
$1164.50.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index <.CRB> was up 3.57 points,
or 1.34 percent, at 269.73.
(Additional reporting by Vivianne Rodrigues in New York and
Blaise Robinson, Naomi Tajitsu and Will James in London;
editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
