* U.S. shares drift higher after jobless claims
* World stocks bounce off seven-week lows
* Euro rises with global shares
By Jeremy Gaunt and Dena Aubin
LONDON/NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - World stocks bounced
off seven-week lows and the euro rose on Thursday but U.S.
shares struggled to hold gains after better-than-expected jobs
data failed to cancel fears about the struggling labor market.
The global picture was helped along by strong corporate
earnings in Europe, which boosted the FTSEurofirst 300 <>
around half a percent.
U.S. new jobless claims fell more than expected, but the
positive reading followed a string of weak economic data that
intensified concerns about the strength of the recovery.
"While we're not seeing a lot of job losses, we're also not
seeing the kind of gains we'd like to see," said Bruce McCain,
chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland.
"That leaves us stuck in an area where things aren't getting
worse, a huge plus, but they're not improving as much as we'd
like."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 19 points, or
0.19 percent, to 10,079. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX>
rose 1.53 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,056.86. The Nasdaq
Composite Index <> added 5.17 points, or 0.24 percent, at
2,146.71.
MSCI's main gauge of global equities <.MIWD00000PUS> was up
0.6 percent after hitting its lowest level since July 7 on
Wednesday. The Thomson Reuters global stock index <.TRXFLDGLPU>
was 0.4 percent higher.
Both Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> and L'Oreal <OREP.PA> beat
expectations for their earnings.
"Companies have been reporting reasonable results," said
David Buik, partner at BGC Partners. "But whether a rally can
be sustained is to be seen. There is nothing to say the bad
news is all over."
With only a few companies left to report for the second
quarter, Thomson Reuters Proprietary Research shows U.S. S&P
500 <.SPX> had average earnings growth of 38.4 percent in the
recent reporting season.
Markets have been balancing good corporate profit results
with signs that growth in the U.S. economy is slowing.
Investors are awaiting a speech on Friday from Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for clues on whether the Fed will
support the economy with fresh injections of cash. Bernanke's
speech will be a keystone of a three-day conference of central
bankers from around the world meeting at Jackson Hole,
Wyoming.
Bonds, meanwhile, continued to attract support. German
10-year debt yields remained close to record lows seen on
Wednesday after data showed new U.S. single-family home sales
slid to the slowest pace on record in July and orders for
costly durable goods were weak.
EURO RISES
The euro rose along with global share prices, but gains
were capped after a recent string of weak U.S. economic data
suggested the pace of recovery was slowing.
The yen was flat to weaker but away from multi-year highs
against the dollar and the euro, as investors speculated on
whether Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will comment
on the yen or monetary policy at a Federal Reserve retreat this
week.
"The market is still looking at stocks and how the ongoing
correlation between risky assets and euro/dollar holds up, and
it still seems to be holding up well," said Jeremy Stretch,
head of currency strategy at CIBC.
The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's performance
against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.3 percent to
82.977 <.DXY>. It hit 83.556 on Tuesday, a six-week high.
The euro <EUR=> rose around 0.3 percent on the day to
$1.2695.
Oil rose after the positive jobless claims reading improved
sentiment and helped spur bargain-hunting. Benchmark U.S.
crude futures for October <CLc1> traded at 73.08, up 56 cents
per barrel.
(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica and Vivianne
Rodrigues in New York and Naomi Tajitsu, Joanne Frearson and
Christopher Johnson in London)
