* Dollar rebounds from 8-month low vs yen on jobs data
* Oil prices pare gains to retreat from three-month peak
* Treasuries prices ease as stocks lifted by data
* Gold breaks $1,200/oz, up for sixth consecutive day
(Updates with close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Global stocks edged higher and
the dollar rebounded from an eight-month low versus the yen on
Wednesday after better-than-expected readings of U.S. and
European economic data rekindled bets on riskier assets.
U.S. Treasuries fell as the U.S. data buoyed stocks,
interrupting a recent rally in Treasuries that drove five-year
note yields to record lows. For details see [].
Investors took heart after U.S. private employers added
42,000 jobs in July after an upwardly revised gain of 19,000 in
June, according to payrolls processor ADP Employer Services.
[]
The vast service sectors in the United States and euro zone
both grew last month, reports showed, easing some worries about
a severe slowdown in the global economic recovery.
[]
MSCI's all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> pared losses
to trade slightly higher, helped by solid gains from U.S.
indexes. Asian indexes fell while European indices were flat or
traded lower.
U.S. stocks rose in thin trade as retailer earnings and the
ADP jobs report boosted optimism before the Labor Department's
U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which is expected to
show a drop of 65,000.
"People still have a lot of concerns about economic growth
right now, and people are thinking the economy is slowing.
These numbers haven't been strong enough to disabuse anyone of
that opinion," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at
Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.
"On the other hand, stocks continue to be very inexpensive,
and if you believe 2011 earnings estimates, they are very
inexpensive," Massocca said.
The S&P 500 is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio
of 12.6 versus 14.6 at the start of the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed up 44.05
points, or 0.41 percent, to 10,680.43. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> added 6.78 points, or 0.61 percent, to
1,127.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> advanced 20.05
points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,303.57.
Oil prices retreated from a three-month high in choppy
trade as the rebounding dollar and weak gasoline futures
weighed on crude futures after they were lifted by a government
report that showed falling inventories.
"It has been a tug of war with the markets today with
competing bullish and bearish (news). The dollar is back up and
it is putting downward pressure on crude prices," said Phil
Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
U.S. crude for September <CLc1> delivery fell 8 cents to
settle at $82.47 a barrel.
Front-month ICE Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 48 cents to settle
at $82.20 a barrel.
The dollar rebounded from an eight-month low against the
yen and rose against the euro as the U.S. data prompted traders
to unwind bets against the U.S. currency. []
"It's obvious the pace of U.S. growth is slowing and people
are waiting to sell the dollar at better levels," said
Hidetoshi Yanagihara, senior currency trader at Mizuho
Corporate Bank in New York.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.50
percent at 86.26, while the euro <EUR=> was down 0.50 percent
at $1.3164.
U.S. Treasury debt prices fell.
Two-year Treasury notes <US2YT=RR> were trading 2/32 lower
in price to yield 0.57 percent. Benchmark 10-year Treasury
notes <US10YT=RR> were trading 10/32 lower in price to yield
2.95 percent. The five-year Treasury <US5YT=RR> was at 1.61
percent after it probed record lows this week.
Gold rose above $1,200 an ounce for the first time in
nearly two weeks, as strong physical demand lifted the metal
higher for its sixth straight daily gain.
U.S. gold futures <GCZ0> for December delivery settled up
$8.40 at $1,195.90 an ounce.
Copper rallied to a fresh three-month peak as risk appetite
improved on the U.S. economic news. []
Copper for September delivery <HGU0> in New York rose 4.60
cents to end at $3.4045 a pound.
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)
