* Stocks rise, with MSCI world index up 0.7 pct
* Dollar gains against euro, yen
* Crude, gold slips; govt bonds mixed
(For a FACTBOX on major market losses and gains in 2008, click
on [])
By Dominic Lau
LONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - World stock markets opened the new
year with gains on Friday after a dismal 2008, while the dollar
rose against major currencies and prices in crude and gold fell.
Global stocks as measured by the MSCI world index
<.MIWD00000PUS> advanced 0.7 percent on the first trading day of
2009, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> up 1.6
percent.
Futures for the U.S. Dow Jones industrial average <DJc1> and
the S&P 500 <SPc1> pointed to a higher opening later in the day.
That was despite data painting a bleak picture for the
global economy after factories in China, India and Russia
slashed output and jobs at a record pace in December.
Manufacturing activity in the euro zone also sank to a
record survey low last month, below an already dire flash
reading, and the outlook remained grim as new orders also sagged
to new lows.
"In the face of bad economic news flow, the markets have
held up very well and are well off their bottoms," said Mike
Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin in London.
"Markets are saying we have been discounting all this bad
news for the past year and are now holding up. Markets in the
past have also tended to do well at the start of the year and
the rise could be attributed to a strong seasonal effect."
The downturn in activity was accompanied by falling
inflationary pressures, clearing the way for an expected cut in
interest rates by the European Central Bank when it meets later
this month.
The euro <EUR=> fell 0.4 percent to $1.3936 and the yen
<JPY=> also slipped against the dollar, which last year posted
its first yearly gain against a basket of currencies since 2005.
Sterling, however, edged lower versus the euro after a
survey showed Britain's manufacturing sector contracted for an
eight month running in December and house prices fell by a
record 16.2 percent year-on-year.
As global demand weakened, oil prices <CLc1> remained in the
doldrums after reaching their peak of $147 a barrel in July.
Crude traded at below $42 a barrel, down nearly 7 percent.
GOLD, CRUDE EASE
Gold <XAU=> also eased, as oil prices tumbled and the dollar
strengthened, cutting the metal's appeal as a currency hedge.
However, copper prices <MCU3=> firmed.
"People are looking at oil and the dollar for guidance,"
said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of sales at precious
metals group Heraeus in Germany. But he added that physical
demand for the metal was healthy as the New Year got underway.
"We are still seeing some interest from the retail sale for
investment bars," he said. "Since the crisis in the financial
markets started, gold has really benefited from its role as a
crisis metal, or a safe haven."
Prices in relatively risk-free government bonds were mixed.
Yields in benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries <US10YT=RR> narrowed
2 basis points, but those for the 10-year Bund <EU10YT=RR> were
2 basis point higher at 2.973 percent.
Euro zone government bonds had a stellar year in 2008 with
two-year yields <EU2YT=RR> falling around 50 percent and 10-year
yields by a third as the market rallied due to the credit crunch
and resulting economic downturn.
(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson, Jan Harvey and
Kirsten Donovan in London)
