* US share prices mixed, Dow hovers around 10,000 mark
* Greenback rises from 14-month lows vs euro
* Ericsson results disappoint, tars European stocks
* Gold, oil dip on U.S. dollar safe-haven buying
(Updates with U.S. markets, changes byline, dateline; previous
LONDON)
By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. share prices were mixed
on Thursday after worse-than-expected U.S. jobless claims data
overwhelmed upbeat corporate results, causing reflex safe-haven
buying of the greenback which lifted it from 14-month lows.
Disappointing results from telecoms maker Ericsson
<ERICb.ST> soured the mood in European stock markets while also
contributing to declines in the United States.
The overall impact was a diminishing of some of the recent
optimism about a global economic recovery.
"People are starting to say 'Is this real and can this
continue?" said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at
Channel Capital Research.com in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.
"Particularly with the government, with the unemployment
numbers, people are getting nervous about that."
China's economic growth increased in the last quarter but
fell short of some of the more optimistic expectations. Stocks
in Shanghai closed lower. For more see [].
The rise in the U.S. dollar against the euro put some
selling pressure on the commodities markets as the gain in the
currency's value made purchases more costly.
Yields on U.S. Treasuries <US10YT=RR> rose as investors
sold on persistent concerns about massive amounts of pending
government debt issuance. Euro zone government debt prices rose
late in the session as investors switched to safer German Bunds
after ratings agency Fitch downgraded Greece's sovereign debt.
Shortly after 1 p.m. (1700 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial
average <> was up 80.48 points, or 0.81 percent, at
10,029.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 2.84
points, or 0.26 percent, at 1,084.24. The Nasdaq Composite
Index <> was down 1.94 points, or 0.09 percent, at
2,148.79.
Solid earnings from Dow components 3M <MMM.N>, a
diversified technology company, Travelers Cos Inc <TRV.N>, the
largest U.S. publicly traded property-casualty insurer, and
fast food giant McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> helped lift the index.
In Europe, Ericsson posted lower-than-expected
third-quarter core earnings and said sales in its key mobile
networks market were hampered by tough market conditions.
But a bigger-than-expected rise in the number of U.S
workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week
indicated the jobs market remains fragile, undermining the
optimism generated by the corporate results. []
One index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose to its
highest since October 2007, however, marking a string of gains
for the past six months through September. []
DOLLAR RISE
Unsettled investors looked to the U.S. dollar for a measure
of safety, helping it recover ground versus the euro and yen.
The greenback has traded in inverse correlation to equities
in recent months, based on shifting investor risk appetite.
The euro <EUR=> fell back below $1.50 to trade down 0.09
percent at $1.4994 from a previous session close of $1.5008.
The dollar hit a one-month peak against the yen <JPY=> of 91.70
before drifting back to 91.40, up 0.45 percent, from a previous
session close of 90.990.
Since April, the dollar has lost nearly 12 percent against
six other major currencies <.DXY>, with heavy selling in recent
weeks pushing it to multimonth
lows.
But the gains for the dollar put downward pressure on oil
and gold. Crude oil prices <CLc1> fell 88 cents, or 1.08
percent, to $80.49 per barrel, down from Wednesday's one-year
high, while spot gold <XAU=> fell $2.10, or 0.20 percent, to
$1,056.80 an ounce.
Another trigger for the dollar's gains, analysts said, were
fears that China may start considering withdrawing some of its
emergency stimulus programs after data showed the economy grew
by a robust 8.9 percent in the third quarter.
But the government said it would retain its ultra-loose
monetary and fiscal policies, and Chinese-based analysts added
growth was not strong enough to trigger policy tightening.
"There are fears that when there is a removal of stimulus
the underlying fundamentals won't be enough to drive global
growth," said Camilla Sutton, senior currency strategist at
Scotia Capital in Toronto. "But the truth is there is a lot of
growth coming out of China and that whole region."
World stocks as measured by MSCI <.MIWD00000PUS> were down
0.52 percent with the emerging market component off around 0.73
percent <.MSCIEF>.
Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 <> lost 1.09 percent.
Japan's Nikkei <> closed down 0.64 percent.
(Additional reporting by Jeremy Gaunt, Blaise Robinson, Naomi
Tajitsu and George Matlock in London, Chris Reese, Steven C.
Johnson, Ryan Vlastelica in New York, and Lucia Mutikani in
Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)
