By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Signs of an improving outlook
for retail companies lifted global stocks on Friday while
attention turned to Group of Seven plans to draw a line under
the credit crisis.
The dollar was generally weaker, close to its historic lows
against the euro.
G7 finance ministers and central bankers were to meet in
Washington later in the day with calls from some, such as Bank
of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, for the rich nations group
to show it was prepared to ensure financial system stability.
They are expected to deploy an international team to keep
closer tabs on the world's big banks and demand better risk
management and information disclosure across financial markets.
Leading bank chiefs have been invited to the meeting to
discuss the global markets crisis, which could cost close to $1
trillion in losses and downgrades in the value of toxic assets
accrued over years of investor euphoria.
"Markets are drawing the conclusion that the worst of the
financial market turmoil is behind them," ING bank said in a
note. "But right or wrong, there will almost certainly be some
further bad news from the financial sector."
Global stocks, in the meantime, were putting in solid gains
based on some positive signs from retailers which suggested
economic slowdown worries may be overdone.
Wall Street started the ball rolling on Thursday after
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, raised its outlook.
This followed through into Asia where Japan's Nikkei average
<> rose 2.9 percent to 13,323.73 with retailers Fast
Retailing Co <9983.T> and Seven & I Holdings <3382.T> jumping on
solid profit outlooks.
European shares also rose, snapping a three-day losing
streak, on oil and telecom stock gains.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
was up 0.6 percent.
"We expect shaky markets and volatility in the short term,
when investors should be buying in the dips, but we are positive
for the economic outlook in the eurozone," said Heinz-Gerd
Sonnenschein, strategist with Deutsche Postbank in Bonn.
"And the U.S. should improve in the second half as the Fed's
actions take effect."
DOLLAR WEAKER ON RATES
The euro moved back up towards record highs versus the
dollar, strengthed by a belief that the European Central Bank's
inflation concerns that will prevent it from cutting interest
rates for a while.
The ECB held rates at 4 percent as expected on Thursday.
Traders were also sceptical that the G7 would do anything to
prop up the dollar.
"Not very many people expect the G7 to come out with a very
firm statement that could support the dollar, so we still have
quite a negative dollar environment, especially when ECB didn't
ease their concern about inflation," said Niels Christensen, FX
strategist at Nordea.
The euro stood at $1.5823 <EUR=>, up 0.5 percent on the day,
and moving back towards the record peak of $1.5912 hit according
to Reuters data on Thursday. The single European currency has
gained nearly 9 percent since the start of this year.
The dollar was steady at 101.68 yen <JPY=>.
Euro zone government bonds slipped, pushing the 10-year
yield back above the key 4 percent level.
The two-year yield <EU2YT=RR> was at 3.494 percent, up
nearly 3 basis points and the 10-year Bund yield <EU10YT=RR>
climbed 2 basis points to 4.004 percent.
(Additional reporting by Sitaraman Shankar and Antonina
Vorobyova; Editing by Gerrard Raven)
