* Brent rises toward $113 on optimism over debt crisis* Euro extends gains against dollar after U.S. sales data* Bonds succumb to rising equity markets, retail sales
(Adds fresh prices)By Herbert LashNEW YORK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Global stocks gained and the
euro strengthened on Friday on growing optimism that Europe is
on track to resolve its festering sovereign debt crisis and
after data showed a surprising surge in U.S. retail sales.Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs began
two days of talks in Paris on Friday which investors hope will
provide a basis for a draft plan in time for a European Union
summit on Oct. 23. For details, see [ID:nL5E7L300R]The benchmark S&P 500 was on track for back-to-back weekly
gains for the first time since early July and gold headed
toward its strongest weekly rise in over a month.The euro rose 0.7 percent to $1.3866.”Right now we are trading on hopes of a decisive policy
response,” said Jens Nordvig, head of G10 FX strategy at Nomura
Securities in New York.To be sure, investors do not expect a comprehensive
strategy to Europe’s debt crisis to come out of the meetings.
But a report early in the session that said U.S. retail sales
grew by 1.1 percent in September, the fastest pace in seven
months, boosted investor sentiment on the economy’s prospects.The data, coupled with earnings from Google (GOOG.O) late
Thursday that trounced analysts’ expectations, led investors to
shrug off a rating downgrade on Spain by Standard & Poor’s and
an unexpected slump in U.S. consumer confidence in October.The data also was expected to help lift forecasts for
growth in gross domestic product even though investors said a
resolution to Europe’s debt crisis was more important.”The data hasn’t mattered for a couple of months. It
matters here and there, but most of what today is, is Europe,”
said John Canally, investment strategist for LPL Financial in
Boston.”Just getting the details of this plan out there and making
the details work is the most important thing,” Canally said.Stocks on Wall Street pared some early gains but shares in
Europe rose almost 1 percent.The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 110.92
points, or 0.97 percent, at 11,589.05. The Standard & Poor’s
500 Index .SPX was up 13.76 points, or 1.14 percent, at
1,217.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 32.18
points, or 1.23 percent, at 2,652.42.Google shares jumped 5.8 percent to $591.43 after the
Internet search giant said robust growth at its mobile business
and a strong emerging market lifted its third quarter, allaying
worries that a slowing Europe was hurting business.
[ID:nN1E79B24M]In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top
regional shares closed up 0.95 percent at 975.52 points, while
MSCI’s all-country world equity index .MIWD00000PUS gained
1.1 percent.The increased appetite for risk also lifted the price of
crude oil more than 3.0 percent and pushed down the U.S. dollar
and government debt, usually beneficiaries of bearish news.”The outlook is good and getting better by the day. Risk
is back on,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York.Brent crude LCOc1 rose above $114 a barrel, propelled by
hopes that European leaders would soon agree on how to curtail
the long festering euro zone debt crisis. [ID:nL3E7LE0E5]Early hints that China may loosen credit as inflation cools
also boosted gains while investors mostly ignored a preliminary
reading of U.S. consumer sentiment that sagged to 57.5 from
59.4 in September, a Thomson Michigan
survey showed.November Brent crude LCOc1 rose $3.56 to $114.67 a barrel
on the day of its expiry, while U.S. crude CLc1 was up $2.47
at $86.70 a barrel.U.S. Treasury debt prices fell.The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR was
down 13/32 in price to yield 2.23 percent.Spot gold prices XAU= rose $16.24 to $1,682.40 an ounce.
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@7 months ago with 39 notes
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