* U.S. stocks boosted by retail sales report
* ECB's Trichet says Greece 'default is not an issue'
* Treasuries lower on stocks; 2-year Treasury at 1 pct
(Recasts lead and updates market prices)
By Jennifer Ablan
NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - The euro rebounded against
the dollar on Thursday after the head of the European Central
Bank said Greece was not in danger of defaulting of its debt,
while U.S. equities shrugged off the worries about Greece as
higher retail sales boosted optimism about the economy.
European shares, however, shed almost 1 percent to close at
a more than one-week low as the worries about Greece continued
to dog sentiment.
Remarks by the president of the European Central Bank,
Jean-Claude Trichet, after a policy meeting where the ECB held
rates steady, comforted jittery financial markets from Europe
to New York amid growing concerns that a rescue plan for
debt-stricken Greece would fall apart.
"I would say that taking all the information I have, a
default is not an issue for Greece," Trichet said. "We are
responsible for 330 million people and for 100 percent of the
GDP of the euro area. Greece represents 2.5 percent of the GDP
of the euro area, but it is obviously an important issue." For
more see []
In New York, the euro <EUR=> was up 0.06 percent at
$1.3348, after earlier falling as low as $1.3282, according to
Reuters data. The low was near its 2010 trough of $1.3267 set
in March on electronic trading platform EBS, which was also its
lowest since May last year.
Trichet's comments "helped boost demand for the euro," said
Michael Malpede, an analyst at Easy Forex in Chicago. "It may
have calmed some of the jitters ... over the Greek debt
situation," he added, but "I don't think Trichet's comments
changed anything."
MSCI's all-country world index of global equities
<.MIWD00000PUS> was off 0.32 percent, while emerging market
shares <.MSCIEF> were down 0.63 percent.
On Wall Street, however, stocks rose on surprisingly strong
March retail sales. The early Easter holiday and an improving
job market helped retailers beat Wall Street's forecast.
[]
An S&P retail index <.RLX> rose 0.9 percent.
Online merchant Amazon.com <AMZN.O> shot up 4.2 percent to
$140.50, leading the S&P 500 higher. It was the third biggest
percerntage jump in Amazon shares this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 14 points,
or 0.16 percent, at 10,914.75, while the Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> was up 0.05 points, or 0.00 percent, at 1,182.50.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 2.67 points, or 0.11
percent, at 2,433.75.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <> ended down 0.93 percent
at 1,087.99 points.
Markets pounded Greek bonds and banking stocks, driving the
debt-stricken euro zone member's borrowing costs to new highs
and pushing it closer to tapping a last resort EU/IMF safety
net.
"It is now up to the Greek government to go publicly to the
EU and IMF and ask for the cash and the support; the matter
cannot be long delayed," Chris Pryce, Fitch Ratings' senior
analyst for Greece, told Reuters in an interview.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 Index <> dropped 1.1 percent.
RISK AVERSION ABATES
U.S. Treasury debt prices were down as selling pressure on
global equities ebbed.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 3/32, with the yield at 3.87 percent, while the two-year
U.S. Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was unchanged, with the yield at
1.06 percent. The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond <US30YT=RR> was
down 5/32, with the yield at 4.7557 percent.
Treasuries got a boost earlier on weak U.S. jobless claims
data. The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for
unemployment insurance rose unexpectedly last week, reflecting
seasonal volatility, according to a government report on
Thursday. []
The dollar was up against a basket of major trading-partner
currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.10 percent
at 81.523 from a previous session close of 81.443.
The euro was up 0.06 percent at $1.3348 from a previous
session close of $1.3340. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar
<JPY=> was down 0.12 percent at 93.23 from a previous session
close of 93.340.
Earlier, the ECB left euro zone interest rates at a record
low of 1 percent. []
In energy and commodities prices, U.S. light sweet crude
oil <CLc1> fell 29 cents, or 0.34 percent, to $85.59 per
barrel, while spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $4.11, or 0.36
percent, to $1151.60. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index <.CRB>,
meanwhile, was down 1.85 points, or 0.67 percent, at 275.74.
(Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
