* US stocks up over 1 pct on jobs data, corporate outlooks
* Euro dips as ECB's Trichet says IMF aid on Greece poor
* Treasuries prices fall after poor sale of 7-year notes
By Walter Brandimarte
NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose about 1
percent on Thursday on positive jobs data and company earnings,
and European shares hit an 18-month closing high, led by bank
shares on hopes for a solution to Greece's fiscal problems.
The euro, however, fell against the dollar after the head
of the European Central Bank said in the afternoon that support
by the International Monetary Fund for debt-stricken Greece was
poor.
Concerns about an enormous supply of debt continued to
weigh on U.S. Treasuries prices following a weak sale
seven-year notes in the afternoon, the last in a series of
three auctions this week, which all have been poorly received.
News that France and Germany agreed on the terms of a
financial aid plan for Greece just before an EU summit on
Thursday had eased some of the debt fears that had battered
global stocks and sent the euro to its weakest since May 2009.
But the improvement in sentiment reversed after the head of the
ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, spoke on disappointment on aid by the
IMF.
On Wall Street, key stock indexes rose more than 1 percent
as wireless chip maker Qualcomm and consumer electronics
retailer Best Buy boosted their profit outlooks and financials
surged for a second day, boosting sentiment that consumer
spending will help drive the economic recovery.
U.S. stocks were also supported by data showing the number
of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment
insurance fell sharply last week. The number of those
continuing to receive benefits after an initial week of aid
fell to the lowest point since December 2008. []
"People are looking to earnings right now to see how
consumers (are doing) and whether the recovery is taking hold,"
said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments LLC in
Lisle, Illinois.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 107.85
points, or 1.0 percent, to 10,945.05, while the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 11.39 points, or 0.98 percent, to
1,179.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 31.02
points, or 1.29 percent, at 2,429.78.
Shares of Best Buy <BBY.N> jumped more than 5 percent after
the company announced earnings that beat expectations and
issued an upbeat forecast. Qualcomm's stock <QCOM.O> rose
nearly 6 percent after it raised its second-quarter earnings
outlook. [] []
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares finished 1.01 percent higher at 1,083.34
points, the highest close since early October 2008. The index
is up 3.6 percent this year and has jumped 67 percent since
hitting a record low in March last year.
The euro fell to a session low against the U.S. dollar
after Trichet said IMF involvement to bail out Greece would be
bad. [].
"If the IMF or some other body exercises the responsibility
in lieu of the Eurogroup or instead of governments, it is
evidently very, very bad," Trichet said.
The euro was last down 0.2 percent against the dollar at
$1.3289 <EUR=> after going as low as $1.3279.
TREASURIES UNDER PRESSURE
U.S. Treasuries prices added to Wednesday's losses, sending
10-year yields to a 2-1/2-month high, after a sale of $32
billion in seven-year notes drew poor investor demand,
following the same pattern seen in the previous two auctions
this week.
"The auction went terribly," said Thomas Simons, money
market economist at Jefferies & Co. "The seven-year note
auction was very sloppy, similar to how the five-year went
yesterday.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> lost
17/32 in price, sending the yield to 3.9165 percent. The
30-year U.S. Treasury bond <US30YT=RR> was down 29/32, with the
yield at 4.7838 percent.
U.S. crude prices were higher, though, supported by the
positive jobs data.
The May crude contract <CLKO> 57 cents, or 0.71 percent, to
$81.18 per barrel. Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $5.45, or 0.50
percent, to $1,092.40.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
