* U.S. stocks rise after services sector, home sales data
* Oil hits 18-month high over $86 a barrel on data
* Bond yields near 9-month highs on recovery outlook
* US dollar falls versus yen, but recovers some on data
(Updates with opening of U.S. markets; changes byline,
dateline from SINGAPORE)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, April 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose and crude
oil prices jumped to an 18-month high on Monday, propelled by
hopes that the economic recovery is gaining momentum after U.S.
homes sales and non-manufacturing data were better than
expected.
Wall Street stocks added to gains, the U.S. dollar pared
losses versus the yen, and prices of U.S. government debt
briefly fell further after data showed the U.S. services sector
in March grew at its fastest pace in nearly four years. For
details see: []
In addition, contracts for pending sales of previously
owned homes unexpectedly rose in February, adding to hopes that
recovery was gaining momentum in the housing market too after
data last week showed U.S. employers created jobs at the
fastest rate in three years.
"The momentum has started and it's hard to derail. I think
we are in good shape," said Kurt Karl, chief U.S. economist at
Swiss RE in New York about the services index from the
Institute for Supply Management.
Friday's good report on U.S. payrolls for March suggested
that the U.S. labor market, key to a sustainable recovery, had
finally turned the corner. Non-farm payrolls rose 162,000, only
the third increase since the U.S. economy fell into recession
in December 2007. []
The Institute for Supply Management said on Monday its
services index jumped to 55.4, its best reading since May 2006,
while a survey from the National Association of Realtors showed
its Pending Home Sales Index rose 8.2 percent to 97.6.
"The data is generally friendly but it's not leading to
another push higher given the fact that we've been moving
higher for five consecutive weeks," said Steve Goldman, equity
market strategist at Weeden & Co in Greenwich, Connecticut.
MSCI's all-country world index for equity markets
<.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.4 percent on a day many markets around
the globe were closed for holidays.
Most European markets were closed, as well as markets in
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 44.28
points, or 0.41 percent, at 10,971.35. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 6.60 points, or 0.56 percent, at
1,184.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 19.31
points, or 0.80 percent, at 2,421.93.
The U.S. dollar fell against euro and the yen as traders
booked profits following a rally to more than seven-month highs
earlier in the session. []
The dollar was down 0.2 percent at 94.41 yen <JPY=>. It had
earlier hit as high as 94.78 yen on electronic trading platform
EBS, the highest since late August.
The euro <EUR=> rose 0.1 percent to $1.3517.
U.S. crude futures climbed over $86 a barrel on
expectations that a faster-than-expected recovery would
increase demnand for fuel. []
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> rose $1.25 to $86.12 a
barrel.
Government debt prices fell. The benchmark 10-year U.S.
Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was down 8/32 in price to yield 3.97
percent, a level not seen since last June, when it hit 4.01
percent, according to Reuters data.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $7.35 to $1127.30.
In Asia, stocks rose on news of last week's U.S. jobs
data.
(Reporting by Wanfeng Zhou, Ellen Freilich and Ellis Mnyandu
in New York; Christopher Johnson in London; writing by Herbert
Lash)
