* U.S. stocks rise after services sector, home sales data
* Oil hits 18-month high over $86 a barrel on data
* U.S. 10-year bond yield hits 4 pct on recovery outlook
* U.S. dollar falls versus yen, but recovers some on data
(Updates with opening of U.S. markets; changes byline;
dateline previously SINGAPORE)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, April 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose and crude
oil prices climbed to an 18-month high on Monday, after
surprisingly strong data on the U.S. non-manufacturing sector
and homes sales spurred hopes that the economic recovery is
gaining momentum.
Data that showed the services sector, the U.S. economy's
largest segment, grew in March at its fastest pace in nearly
four years lifted risk appetite and drove down prices of
safe-haven U.S. government debt. For details see:
[] The yield of the benchmark 10-year note, which
moves inversely to price, rose to 4 percent.
Contracts for pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes
unexpectedly rose in February, adding to hopes that the
recovery was picking up speed in the housing market, too.
Monday's data came after a labor market report released on
Friday, when most financial markets were closed for the Good
Friday holiday, showed U.S. employers created jobs at the
fastest rate in three years in March, reinforcing the
perception that the U.S. economy is definitely on the path to
recovery.
MSCI's all-country world index for equity markets
<.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.4 percent. Many markets around the globe
were shut for holidays on Monday.
Most European markets were closed, as well as markets in
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand.
"Today the market is just really consolidating and waiting
for Europe to come back into full action. I'm not reading too
much into any of today's moves," said Amarjit Sahota, chief
currency strategist at HiFX in San Francisco.
The U.S. payrolls report on Friday showed 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 the National Association of Realtors reported its Pending
Home Sales Index rose 8.2 percent to a reading of 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.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 43.15
points, or 0.39 percent, at 10,970.22. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 8.49 points, or 0.72 percent, at
1,186.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 23.80
points, or 0.99 percent, at 2,426.38.
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 0.4 percent at 94.16 yen <JPY=>. It
earlier hit as high as 94.78 yen on electronic trading platform
EBS, the highest since late August.
The euro <EUR=> slid 0.1 percent to $1.3493.
U.S. crude futures climbed over $86 a barrel on
expectations that a faster-than-expected recovery would
increase demand for fuel. []
"Economic optimists have taken control of the market after
jobs data, manufacturing and pending home sales data all came
in better than expected," said Gene McGillian, analyst at
Tradition Energy in Connecticut. "We're in uncharted territory.
I think we can keep trending higher."
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> rose $1.71 to $86.58 a
barrel, after rising as high as $86.90.
Government debt prices fell. The benchmark 10-year U.S.
Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was down 14/32 in price to yield
almost 4 percent, a level not seen since last June, when it hit
4.01 percent, according to Reuters data.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $10.90 to $1,130.90.
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; Editing by Leslie Adler)
