* Stocks surge after Wall St rise on earnings optimism
* Aussie employment figures soar past forecasts
* Euro climbs to 2 month high, dollar defensive
* Nikkei could see biggest pct gain in over a month
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) - The euro surged to a two-month
high and Asian stocks climbed to their highest in more than a
week on Thursday after a bullish forecast fuelled optimism
about the coming U.S. earnings season and underpinned growing
tolerance for risk.
Further good news came with the release of Australian June
employment figures that surged well above forecasts, promising
to underpin household incomes and spending and sending the
Australian dollar higher. []
U.S. financial company State Street Corp <STT.N> said on
Wednesday that quarterly earnings would far exceed
expectations, providing a lifeline to investors after several
weeks of dismal economic reports and propelling Wall Street to
its biggest one-day gain in six weeks. [] []
Materials and financial shares drove Asian shares to their
highest since June 29 and Japan's benchmark Nikkei average
<> appeared to be on target for its best one-day rise in
over a month, with exporters especially strong performers. []
"It could easily be viewed as a bounce from an oversold
market in equities and risk appetite, and most people will see
it in that light," said Greg Gibbs, a currency strategist at
Royal Bank of Scotland in Sydney.
"But give it some time. They won't be immediately trying to
sell it down," he said, referring to the rally in risk assets.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.8 percent, its highest since June 29.
Japan's Nikkei shone, gaining 2.6 percent to 9,527.21, its
highest since June 29 and on track for its best one-day gain
since June 3. It fell to 9,091, a seven-month low, on Tuesday.
"This is a reaction to the oversold state in the market.
There were very few reasons to sell off the index to 9,000,"
said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general manager at Cosmo
Securities.
"Although there are vague worries about the outlook, at
least for now corporate earnings appear to be on a solid
footing."
Asset Management and custody firm State Street gained
nearly 10 percent after its forecast and bank stocks rallied
after heavy losses in recent weeks, with the KBW bank index
<.BKX> up 5.6 percent, after the forecast reinforced
expectations for the coming earnings season.
Australian shares were the next runner-up after Japan,
gaining 2.3, with banks among the strongest performers.
June Australian employment figures, released mid-morning,
surged to 45,900, far above market forecasts of 17,500 in a
Reuters poll.
EURO, AUSSIE
The Australian dollar rose to 0.8731 <AUD=D4>, gaining
around 1.2 percent on the day, after the jobs data. It rose 1.5
percent against the yen <AUDJPY=R>.
The euro <EUR=> climbed to a two-month high above $1.2665
and rose as far as $1.2688 on electronic trading platform EBS,
breaking above resistance at $1.2673 that had been seen as a
hurdle to further gains. []
Still, most analysts in a Reuters poll believe it will stay
weak against the dollar over the coming year. The survey of
about 60 analysts, taken July 2-7, predicted the euro would
fall to $1.24 in one month and $1.20 in three months, then to
$1.18 in six months and in mid-2011. []
Crude oil <CLc1> rose 92 cents or more than 1 percent after
an industry report showed U.S. inventories plunged last week,
adding to price gains triggered by surging equity markets.
[]
Gold extended its rebound, with spot gold <XAU=> rising to
1,204.90 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Charlotte Cooper and Aiko Hayashi;
Editing by Kazunori Takada)
