(Adds editor's name at bottom)
* U.S. jobless claims, trade data lift stocks, crude, euro
* Yen edges near 15-year high against dollar
* Safe-haven Treasuries, gold fall after data
(Updates with U.S. markets' open)
By Manuela Badawy and Dominic Lau
NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Stocks and the euro
rose on Thursday after stronger-than-expected U.S. data on
labor conditions and trade activity, raising hopes the tepid
economic recovery would accelerate.
The yen edged near to a 15-year high against the dollar as
investors bet Japanese authorities are not yet ready to curb
the currency's strength. Crude prices rose and bonds fell.
New claims for unemployment insurance fell more than
expected last week to their lowest level in two months and the
U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than forecast in July as
exports shot to their highest level since August 2008, painting
a rosier picture for economic growth. For details,
see[].
"The news flow has been positive over the last few days
compared to what is was through most of August," said John
Toohey, vice president of equity investments at USAA in San
Antonio, Texas.
"You put that together with the fact sentiment among
investors had turned more bearish than it has been since early
2009, you are ripe for a rally."
Fears of a double-dip recession have kept investors at bay
and the stock market in a tight trading range for several
months.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> added 61.91 points,
or 0.60 percent, to 10,448.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> rose 9.49 points, or 0.86 percent, to 1,108.36. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> gained 17.27 points, or 0.77
percent, to 2,246.14.
Capping gains in the Dow industrials, McDonald's Corp
<MCD.N>, the world's largest hamburger chain, dropped 2.7
percent to $74.03 after reporting weaker-than-expected August
sales in Europe.
Japan's Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said the ministry
was conducting simulations on forex intervention, though the
Japanese currency hardly budged as the perception remains that
Tokyo is unlikely to intervene until the U.S. currency falls
near 80 yen.
Noda's comments were also undermined as Bank of Japan
Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said he did not talk about
currencies and monetary policy at a government meeting.
[]
"Comments from Japanese authorities indicated they are not
in a hurry to intervene, so new (dollar) lows should be
tested," Roberto Mialich, currency strategist at UniCredit in
Milan, said.
The dollar pared losses against the yen after the release
of the U.S. data, but the yen <JPY=> remained near a 15-year
high against the dollar. The dollar is down 9.9 percent against
the Japanese currency this year, which is buoyant on global
growth concerns.
The euro eased 0.2 percent to 106.45 yen <EURJPY=>,
hovering near a nine-year low. The single currency was up 0.2
percent against the dollar at $1.2750, helped by comments from
European Central Bank Governing Council member Yves Mersch that
the euro zone was on the brink of a sustainable recovery.
[].
STOCKS HIGHER
U.S. data and Mersch's remarks also lifted European shares
to their highest in more than four months, with the
FTSEurofirst 300 <> up 0.9 percent, while Germany's
VDAX-NEW volatility index <.V1XI>, a gauge of investors' fears,
eased 2.3 percent.
"Equity markets are getting used to the reality that
economies are slowing quite significantly. The question is how
much growth is required now to support equity markets," said
Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in
Dublin.
Illustrating the current dilemma, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>
board member Juergen Fitschen said the risk of a credit crunch
in the real economy has not abated as demand for loans rises,
spurred by a rebound after the financial crisis.
World stocks measured by MSCI All-Country World Index
<.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.8 percent. The index, which carried a
12-month forward price-to-earnings of 11.23 against a 10-year
average of 15.22, is down 2.8 percent this year.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average <> rose 0.8 percent.
Oil <CLc1> rose above $75 a barrel, drawing strength from
the U.S. data.
U.S government bonds fell, with the benchmark 10-year note
<US10YT=RR>, down 11/32 in price for a yield of 2.70 percent,
up from 2.65 percent late Wednesday.
The 30-year bond <US30YT=RR> was down 27/32 after briefly
losing more than 1 point after the U.S. data. Its yield was
last 3.77 percent, up from 3.73 percent late Wednesday.
The U.S. Treasury will reopen the 30-year bond it
originally sold in August by $13 billion, which is part of this
week's $67 billion in coupon-bearing supply.
Gold <XAU=> fell to session lows after the release of the
U.S. data. Spot gold was bid at $1,253.05 a troy ounce.
(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos in New York and Tamawa
Desai, Brian Gorman and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London;
Editing by Kenneth Barry)
