* US jobless claims at lowest in over 2 years, spending up
* Risk appetite drives US stocks up 1 pct, Treasuries down
* Portugal, Spain spreads widen as Irish tension spreads
(Updates with U.S. markets' close)
By Walter Brandimarte
NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Stocks rebounded on Wednesday
on stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs and consumer sentiment data
but lingering concerns about the European debt crisis weighed
on the euro.
Prices of U.S. Treasuries and gold dropped as investors
felt more comfortable taking on risk, one day after rising
tensions in the Korea peninsula jolted global markets.
The relief came after data showed claims for U.S.
unemployment benefits last week dropped to their lowest level
in more than two years. Consumer sentiment also rose to its
highest since June. For details, see [].
The data sent major U.S. stock indexes more than 1 percent
higher and Asia looked set to rise as well, with Japan's Nikkei
futures traded in Chicago <NKZ0> gaining 270 points to
10,145.00.
"Now you are getting good economic data, and you have a tug
of war going on here between an improving economy and
geopolitical events," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment
strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.
"The market is trying to determine how much weight to put on
each one of these events."
Fears that the Irish debt crisis could spread into weaker
members of the euro zone also inspired caution, with yield
spreads of Portuguese and Spanish debt widening to fresh
records even as Ireland unveiled a much-awaited austerity
plan.
The 15 billion euro ($20 billion) plan for the next four
years includes deep spending cuts and tax increases but also
retains economic assumptions that many analysts deem
unrealistic. []
"There are still a lot of questions surrounding the bailout
of Ireland and the budget; the government is in a limbo and we
do not know if it will go through," said Franz Wenzel,
strategist with AXA Investment Managers in Paris.
Major U.S. stock indexes gained more than 1 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 150.91 points,
or 1.37 percent, to 11,187.28, while the Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> gained 17.62 points, or 1.49 percent, to 1,198.35.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> climbed 48.17 points, or
1.93 percent, to 2,543.12.
MSCI's All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS> climbed 0.89
percent, while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares rebounded from six-weeks lows to close 1.02 percent
higher at 1,087.67.
The European stock market was also supported by data
showing German business sentiment rose in November to its
strongest since 1991.
EURO UNDER PRESSURE
The U.S. dollar seesawed against key currencies as trading
was thin on the eve of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, when U.S.
financial markets will be closed.
The U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY>, which measures the
performance of the greenback against a basket of major
currencies, rose 0.1 percent after posting losses earlier on
the session.
The euro <EUR=> initially strengthened on the
better-than-expected U.S. data, but concerns about the euro
zone debt crisis weighed later, sending the European single
currency 0.28 percent lower to $1.3333.
"The driver is "still Irish and euro-zone concerns, and we
will be talking about this well into 2011," said Brian Dolan,
chief currency strategist at Forex.com in Bedminster, New
Jersey. "The market will continue to expect Portugal to apply
(for aid) and then it will come down to Spain."
U.S. Treasury prices fell, however, as stocks took the
appeal off the government debt market. Prices of benchmark
10-year notes <US10YT=RR> were down more than one point,
sending yields up to 2.9157 percent.
Gold prices <XAU=> fell 0.18 percent to $1,374.20 an ounce.
U.S. crude oil prices <CLc1> rose $2.61, or more than 3
percent, to $83.86 per barrel.
(Additional reporting by William James, Chuck Mikolajczak,
Chris Reese and Julie Haviv; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
