GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, euro rise on retail sales, crisis hopes
* 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 salesBy 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 sovereign debt crisis and after data
showed a surge in U.S. retail sales.Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs began
two days of talks in Paris on Friday. Although investors do not
expect a comprehensive strategy to Europe’s debt crisis to come
out of Friday’s meeting, they hope it will provide an
opportunity for officials to agree on the outlines of a plan in
time for a European Union summit on Oct. 23.Government data that U.S. retail sales grew by 1.1 percent
in September, the fastest pace in seven months, also boosted
investor sentiment on the economy and the data was expected to
help lift economic growth forecasts.The data, coupled with earnings from Google 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 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, signs that
investors expect a resolution to Europe’s debt crisis is near.”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 about how the G20 meeting trumped the economic data.”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 jumped about 1 percent while shares
in Europe closed up 0.8 percent.The euro rose 0.7 percent to $1.3867.The Dow Jones industrial average was up 101.57
points, or 0.88 percent, at 11,579.70. The Standard & Poor’s
500 Index was up 13.19 points, or 1.10 percent, at
1,216.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 30.44
points, or 1.16 percent, at 2,650.68.Google led the Nasdaq higher as its shares jumped 5.8
percent to $591.50 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.In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top
regional shares provisionally closed up 0.8 percent at 974.46
points, while MSCI’s all-country world equity index gained 1.1 percent.The increased appetite for risk on Friday also lifted the
price of crude oil more than 2.0 percent and pushed down the
U.S. dollar and government debt, which usually benefit when
news is bearish.”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 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.Early hints that China may loosen credit as inflation cools
also boosted gains while investors mostly ignored a preliminary
reading of consumer sentiment that sagged to 57.5 from 59.4 in
September, a Thomson Michigan survey
showed.November Brent crude rose $3.02 to $114.13 a barrel
on the day of its expiry, while U.S. crude was up $2.17
at $86.40 a barrel.U.S. Treasury debt prices fell.The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was
down 19/32 in price to yield 2.25 percent.Spot gold prices rose $4.99 to $1,671.10 an ounce.
