* Dollar rebounds from 8-month low vs yen on jobs data
* Oil falls toward $82, calm on Iran president attack
* Bond prices ease in profit taking from recent gains
* Gold breaks $1,200/oz, up for sixth consecutive day
(Adds open of U.S. markets, changes byline, previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Global stocks cut losses and
the dollar rebounded on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected
data on U.S. jobs and services industries rekindled bets on
riskier assets.
U.S. Treasuries extended losses as investors booked profits
from a recent rally that pushed yields on two-year note to
record lows on Tuesday. For details see []
Investors took heart after data showed U.S. private
employers added 42,000 jobs in July, compared with a revised
gain of 19,000 in June, according to payrolls processor ADP
Employer Services. []
A later report from the Institute for Supply Management
that said its services index rose in June above the median
forecast of economists surveyed by Reuters, added to the
buoyant mood. []
Still, the positive growth shows the U.S. economy has not
gained the job-creating momentum to pull the unemployment rate
down from above 9 percent.
"The fact that it was better than expected is a good sign,
but it's more of the same of what we're seeing in the jobs
market. The recovery remains slow, and it's something that's
going to take longer to play out," said Michael O'Rourke, chief
market strategist at BTIG LLC in New York.
MSCI's all-country world index dipped back into the red
after briefly turning positive, with a 0.2 percent decline.
But other major stock indexes posted slightly positive
gains, although they struggled to stay above break-even.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 4.62 points,
or 0.04 percent, at 10,641.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> was up 0.99 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,121.45. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 3.04 points, or 0.13
percent, at 2,286.56.
Crude oil fell for the first day in five sessions as a
rally that powered prices to three-month highs near $83 a day
earlier lost steam. []
Prices did not react much to an attack on Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with analysts expressing caution about
moving on initial reports from Iran. []
"Prices haven't moved today but we've just had a very
strong rally," said Paul Harris, head of natural resources risk
management at Bank of Ireland. "Geopolitical risk from the
Middle East is broadly priced in."
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> fell 40 cents to $82.15
per barrel.
The dollar rebounded from an eight-month low against the
yen on Wednesday and rose against the euro after the U.S.
data.
on fears the Federal Reserve could embrace more monetary
easing to jolt a faltering recovery, but it recouped losses on
the U.S. economic data.
However, analysts said markets will likely require more
positive news to reverse the steady selling of dollars that has
prevailed in recent weeks.
"The market really needed to see an improvement in U.S.
data," said Jessica Hoversen, fixed-income and currency
strategist at MF Global in Chicago. But, "We need to see better
U.S. data and weak European data for the dollar to rally."
The dollar was last at 86.26 yen <JPY=>, up 0.6 percent
after falling to 85.33, its lowest since November. A move below
84.81 yen would mark a 15-year low. The euro fell 0.6 percent
to $1.3146 <EUR=>.
The greenback was up against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.52 percent at 80.981.
U.S. Treasury debt prices were lower after the economic
data put a cap on the bid to safety. Investors also showed an
inclination to sell ahead of another round of Treasury debt
supply next week.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 5/32 in price to yield 2.93 percent. The 2-year U.S.
Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was down 2/32 in price to yield 0.56
percent.
Gold prices broke above $1,200 an ounce in Europe on
Wednesday, reaching their highest level in over two weeks.
[]
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $15.05 to $1,199.70 an ounce.
Copper reversed losses as improving risk appetite coupled
with jobs data from the United States, supported prices.
[]
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo stocks <> fell 2.1 percent,
while the MSCI Asia-Pacific index that excludes Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was down 0.1 percent.
Fears that a strong yen would erode exporters' profits and
sap economic growth boosted Japanese government bonds, pushing
the 10-year yield <JP10YTN=JBTC> below 1 percent for the first
time in seven years.
(Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
