* MSCI world equity index up 0.6 percent to 300.24
* World stocks near 5-month high; gold hits record peak
* Yen hits one-month low vs euro on intervention jitters
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - World stocks hit their highest
level in nearly five months on Friday, underpinned by optimism
for consumer demand, while the yen hit a one-month low against
the euro as threat of Japanese intervention persisted.
Gold hit a record high, backed by a weaker dollar and demand
from investors attracted by the metal's role as a hedge against
both deflation and inflation at a time the global economy
recovers at an uneven pace.
In Europe, Carrefour <CARR.PA>, the world's second-biggest
retailer, led retail stocks higher after it announced a 1.5
billion euro revamp of its hypermarkets which it hopes would
help double profits by 2015.
"The bias of the market is to go up. That's not because it's
getting good data, but it's inclined to wait for better data. It
believes there won't be a double dip," said Bernard McAlinden,
investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.6 percent
while the Thomson Reuters global stock index <.TRXFLDGLPU>
gained by the same amount. Carrefour rose nearly six percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <> rose 0.9 percent.
Emerging stocks <.MSCIEF> also added 0.9 percent.
In the United States, Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan
Surveys of Consumers release preliminary September consumer
sentiment index is due later. Economists expect a reading of
70.0 compared with 68.9 in the final August report.
QE AND RISK APPETITE
Helped by higher risk appetite, flows into high yield bond
and emerging market equity funds hit a six-week high, according
to fund tracker EPFR.
Equity funds saw an aggregate $9.4 billion of net inflows in
the week to Sept 15, while bond funds took in $4.2 billion and
money market funds had redemptions of $26.5 billion, the highest
in three months [].
U.S. crude oil <CLc1> rose 0.7 percent to $75.08 a barrel,
helped by the dollar which fell a third of a percent against a
basket of major currencies <.DXY>.
The Federal Reserve meets on Tuesday. Fed officials have
been weighing diverging views on the how economy is likely to
perform next year and the risk further monetary stimulus may do
more harm than good.
The yen fell as low as 112.98 per euro <EURGBP=>, after
Japan intervened in the FX market on Wednesday to curb the yen's
export-damaging rise. Japan held off draining yen funds that
went into the market, effectively easing monetary policy.
"We suggest the Japanese intervention could form part of a
broader quantitative easing policy, adding to global liquidity
and supporting investor risk appetite," BNP Paribas said in a
note to clients.
"Indeed, with the prospects of the Fed also returning to
quantitative easing in the months ahead increasing, we would
expect commodity and local markets currencies to be generally
well supported."
The bund futures <FGBLc1> held steady.
Gold <XAU=> rose above $1,283 an ounce, helped by a weaker
dollar and the prospect of more easing measures by the Federal
Reserve next week. Concerns about deflation and inflation in
parts of the global economy also prompted flows into the yellow
metal.
(Additional reporting by Brian Gorman; Editing by Toby
Chopra)
