* Stocks rise on strong earnings and M&A, US economic data
* Euro rises on higher interest rate concerns
* Oil hits $100 on supply worries, Egypt crisis
(Updates with European markets close, prices, comment)
By Manuela Badawy
NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Monday's
strong earnings while Europe's oil benchmark hit $100 a barrel
on concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt which
caused a sharp selloff in world equities last week.
The euro also recovered from Friday's weakness, helped by
concerns economic growth and inflation in Europe might mean the
region increases interest rates more quickly than the United
States.
U.S. government debt prices slipped back as investors
turned to riskier assets while Europe's benchmark Brent crude
oil surged above $100 a barrel for the first time in 28 months
on concerns that the political upheaval in Egypt could spread
through to other parts of the Middle East, possibly disrupting
oil shipments through the Suez Canal.
Gold edged up on some safe-haven buying but it was set for
its worst monthly performance since December 2009, driven down
by the improving tone of some key U.S. economic data.
A report showed a measure of factory activity in the U.S.
Midwest rising to a 22-1/2 year high in January on strong
orders and employment prospects. Another showed consumer
spending ended 2010 on a firmer footing, a trend that
economists expected to continue as the labor market recovery
gains traction. []
European shares edged up from three-week lows, with energy
and mining firms advancing as confidence over the outlook for
corporate profits overshadowed worries about political unrest
in Egypt.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index ended 0.1
percent higher at 1,145.06 points.
"I think it would take more than protests in Egypt to take
this market down. The earnings continue to come in
better-than-expected but I am looking for a correction," said
Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James in
St. Petersburg, Florida.
U.S. stocks edged higher after Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N>,
the world's largest publicly traded oil company reported a
higher-than-expected 53 percent increase in quarterly profit.
[]
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 52.30
points, or 0.44 percent, at 11,876.00. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 9.59 points, or 0.75 percent, at
1,285.93.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 16.29 points, or
0.61 percent, at 2,703.18, managing to hold gains even after
bellwether Intel Corp <INTC.O> fell 1.7 percent to $21.09 after
cutting its first-quarter revenue forecast by $300 million due
to costs for correcting a design flaw in one of its chips. For
details, see []
The MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> was up 0.18
percent while emerging stocks <.MSCIEF> were down 0.58 percent,
pressured by Egypt's unrest.
In currencies, the euro was supported by purchases made by
Asian central banks and Middle East accounts, while nervousness
surrounding the political crisis in Egypt is calming down "as
far as the currency market is concerned," said Brad Bechtel,
managing director of Faros Trading, managing director at FX
advisory and execution firm Faros Trading in Stamford,
Connecticut.
The dollar was down against a basket of currencies, with
the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 0.57 percent at 77.689, while
the euro <EUR=> was up 0.69 percent at $1.3707, and some
traders expecting a move toward $1.40 in the weeks ahead.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar <JPY=> was down 0.17
percent at 81.97.
Egypt's stock exchange was closed on Monday as a result of
the protests to end the 30-year rule of President Hosni
Mubarak. Ratings agency Moody's added to Cairo's financial woes
by downgrading the country's debt rating on concern the Mubarak
regime may spend more to placate protesters.
Among commodities, benchmark Brent crude <LCOc1> hit $101 a
barrel, first time since September 2008, while benchmark U.S.
crude <CLc1> futures were up 1.67 percent at $90.83 a barrel on
concern that the unrest in Egypt could spread and also on
expected cold weather in the U.S. and strong economic data.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $1.06, or 0.1 percent, to
$1335.5 an ounce. Copper <CMCU3>, used in power and
construction, hit $9,744.75 a tonne, its highest since reaching
a record at $9,781 a tonne on Jan. 19, on short-covering ahead
of a week-long Chinese holiday.
Tin <CMSN3> hit a record high of $30,050 a tonne on worries
about supplies from top exporter Indonesia.
U.S. Treasuries, seen as a safe-haven during uncertain
times, softened on better-than-expected economic data boosting
confidence that the U.S. economy is on track to recover.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 8/32, with the yield at 3.3606 percent. The 2-year U.S.
Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was down 1/32, with the yield at
0.5541 percent. The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond <US30YT=RR> was
down 15/32, with the yield at 4.5651 percent.
(Reporting by Manuela Badawy, Steven C. Johnson, Chuck
Mikolajczak, Robert Gibbons and Richard Leong in New York and
Harpreet Bhal Simon Jessop and Amanda Cooper in London;
Editing by Andrew Hay)
