* Solid debt sales reassure investors
* Euro, stocks and commodities gain
* Data shrugged off, bonds under pressure
(Recasts, adds U.S. futures, quotes, updates prices)
By Simon Falush
LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Stocks gained, commodity prices
rose and the euro clambered higher on Tuesday as strong demand
for debt from around Europe reassured investors about the state
of the euro zone's finances.
Spain's Treasury raised 5.2 billion euros at its 12- and
18-month T-bill auction on Tuesday, while Belgium raised 2.5
billion euros in a heavily oversubscribed auction, and Ireland
sold 1.5 billion in bonds.
That eased anxiety over the state of the euro zone's debt
situation, although the yields countries have to pay are still
sharply higher than a month ago and Moody's downgrade of Greece
to junk status on Monday had kept markets on edge.
The euro briefly fell after the ZEW indicator showed German
investor sentiment slumped much more than expected in June, but
the move was quickly reversed as investors chose to focus on
more positive indicators. []
European shares were up for a fifth consecutive day, with
the FTSEurofirst 300 <> up 0.4 percent, with more cyclical
sectors like banks <.SX7P> among the strongest performeers.
"S&P had already downgraded Greece to junk, so the Moody's
news was less significant, and the ZEW survey was weak but other
survey data has been relatively good," said RBS currency
strategist Paul Robson.
DATA SHRUGGED OFF
World stocks <.MIWD00000PUS>, gained 0.1 percent, up for a
sixth day, while MSCI's main emerging market stock index
<.MSCIEF>, which is up around 9 percent since hitting a year low
on May 25, also added 0.1 percent.
The euro <EUR=>, which was languishing at a low since 2006
of $1.1876 last week, gained 0.4 percent to $1.22.63.
"There is enough to stop people from aggressively selling
euro/dollar, and what doesn't go down will tend to go up,"
Robson said.
Miners and energy stocks were also firmer as base metals
like copper <MCU3=LX> gained and crude <CLc1L> rose to around
$76 per barrel.
U.S. Treasuries were softer as demand for the safe-haven
asset eased. T-notes futures <TYv1> fell 6/32 in price to
120-00/32, but remained above its 10-day low around 119-7.5/32
hit in Monday U.S. trade.
While governments managed to raise funds by selling bonds,
lingering concerns kept investors relatively cautious.
Moody's cited "macroeconomic and implementation risks" in
Greece's draconian austerity programme, reviving persistent
doubts about Athens' ability to repay its debt. []
Spanish Treasury Secretary Carlos Ocana admitted officially
for the first time on Monday that some Spanish banks were facing
a liquidity freeze in the interbank market. []
Others were also worried about the outlook for the economy
and its impact on stocks.
"What's important for the stock exchange is the profit
outlook for companies and that is related to economic growth. If
economic growth falters in the second half of this year then you
can cross-out that provision."
(Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer and Harpreet Bhal;
Editing by Patrick Graham)
