* World stocks edge up
* Crude oil falls, trades just above $51 a barrel
* U.S. dollar firmer, U.S. bonds rise
(Recasts, updates prices, changes byline, changes dateline,
previous LONDON)
By Nick Olivari
NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were mostly
higher in thin trade on Friday, as investors eyed retail sales
on the first day of the shopping season after the Thanksgiving
Day holiday, to gauge the extent of weakening consumer
demand.
European and Asian shares were also higher, despite the
attacks in Mumbai, India, while U.S. Treasury debt prices and
the U.S. dollar both gained as investors continued to look for
safe-havens as global economic growth slows.
"It's a light volume day so you're going to see some choppy
trading, with so many people out," said Robert Finkel, consumer
trader at Stifel Nicolaus in Baltimore of the U.S. stock
market.
"I'm watching how things go from a retail standpoint today
- we've heard a lot of speculation about how bad it's going to
be, now we'll get some proper feedback."
The U.S. holiday weekend will test the strength of
consumer sentiment, a main driver of the U.S. economy, as the
country faces its worst financial crisis since the Great
Depression. If the U.S. consumer fails to buy, companies across
the globe can expect to see fewer exports and profits.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 32.42 points,
or 0.4 percent, to 8,759.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> rose 0.66 points, or 0.1 percent, at 888.34. The Nasdaq
Composite Index <> shed 11.99 points, or 0.8 percent, to
1,520.11.
The S&P's retail index <.RLX> dipped 2.3 percent.
The U.S. stock market was closed Thursday for the
Thanksgiving holiday and is trading for half the day on Friday.
On Wednesday, stocks ended higher, capping the Dow's biggest
four-day percentage gain since 1932.
Technology shares slid after signs of a downturn in global
chip demand as STMicroelectronics cut its fourth-quarter
outlook. Industry sources said Taiwan companies want to slash
costs. The semiconductor index <.SOXX> shed 1.1 percent.
OPEC MEETS
U.S. light crude for January delivery <CLc1> stood at
$51.52 a barrel, down $2.90, on course to end the month down
more than 20 percent, as OPEC ministers prepared to meet in
Cairo to discuss potential further supply cuts to combat a
global fall in demand .
In the U.S. Chevron <CVX.N> fell 1.9 percent tracking oil
lower.
Indian stocks ended higher despite the attacks in Mumbai,
but India's 10-year bond yield fell to its lowest level in
three years on expectations that the attacks will an impetus to
central bank interest rate cuts.
Globally, the MSCI all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS>
was 0.1 percent, although it has gained more than 10 percent
this week, the first weekly gain in four weeks.
"On a range of measures, there is undoubted value to be
found in many of the world's equity markets," said Sarah Arkle,
chief investment officer with Threadneedle Asset Management.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> was up 0.7
percent, as buoyant pharmaceutical shares eclipsed a drop in
cyclical mining and industrial sectors.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei average <> climbed 1.7 percent
to close out its best week in a month.
The U.S. dollar regained traction against major currencies
after early losses. The euro lost 1.8 percent to $1.2656
<EUR=>. The dollar was flat at 95.36 yen <JPY=>.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes <US10YT=RR> traded higher
in price for a yield of 2.9673 percent. The benchmark yield,
which moves inversely to prices, fell to as low as 2.82 percent
on Friday, according to Reuters data, marking the lowest in at
least five decades.
Overall, benchmark yields are on track for the biggest
monthly fall in at least 12 years, according to Reuters data,
as investors have stampeded into lower-risk investments on
signs of ever-deepening economic distress. The 10-year yield
has shed more than a full percentage point since the end of
October.
Euro zone government bonds rose, reflecting concern about
the economy and expectations of interest rate cuts. Two-year
Schatz yields <EU2YT=RR> were last down 3 basis points to 2.202
percent.
(Additional reporting by Kristina Cooke, Chris Reese and
Vivianne Rodrigues in New York, and Jeremy Gaunt in London)
(Reporting by Nick Olivari)
