(Refiles to fix typo in headline)
* Wall Street rises on U.S. consumer confidence reading
* Bond prices slip as worries over North Korea wane
* Dollar up before Treasury auction; confidence rises
* Oil rises above $61 a barrel ahead of OPEC meeting
(Updates with U.S. markets activity; changes dateline,
previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - Global stocks rebounded and
the U.S. dollar rose on Tuesday after economic data, including
a jump in U.S. consumer confidence that suggested an improving
economy, overcame worries about a North Korean nuclear test.
Crude oil prices pared losses to trade above $61 a barrel
in response to data from the Conference Board industry group
showing U.S. consumer sentiment soared to an eight-month high
and after Saudi Arabia said oil demand was picking up.
U.S. and euro-zone government debt prices fell after the
jump in U.S. consumer confidence dimmed the allure of
safe-haven assets like bonds, which had been up on news of the
North Korean nuclear test and missile tests.
The dollar rose versus the euro as the improving U.S.
consumer confidence combined with worries about Germany's banks
to hurt the European currency after a rally last week.
"The consumer confidence number was tremendous. That's a
key piece for boosting risk appetite," said Melvin Harris,
market strategist at Advanced Currency Markets in New York.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer sentiment
jumped to 54.9 in May from a revised 40.8 in April, well above
forecasts of 42.0. It was the biggest one-month jump since
April 2003, when many Americans believed the war in Iraq was
coming to a rapid conclusion.
The May jump was a welcome shift from a record low hit in
February and lifted U.S. stocks more than 2 percent, with the
technology-laden Nasdaq rising more than 3 percent after a
broker upgrade of Apple Inc <AAPL.O>.
"Huge number -- much higher than expected, obviously giving
the market a good boost here," said Todd Clark, managing
director of stock trading at Nollenberger Capital Partners in
San Francisco.
"The extent of that could help consumer spending and
economic growth in general. It's a good thing," he said.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average
<> was up 205.57 points, or 2.48 percent, at 8,482.89. The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 22.39 points, or 2.52
percent, at 909.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up
55.67 points, or 3.29 percent, at 1,747.68.
European shares closed higher after the U.S. data lifted
shares that had been lower on worries about North Korea's
latest nuclear test and missile launches.
Oil company stocks gained after crude prices pared losses.
"The U.S. isn't looking that panicked by the North Korean
missile launches that followed the underground atomic tests
over the weekend, instead finding strength off numbers such as
the better-than-expected consumer confidence reading," said
Jimmy Yates, head of equities at CMC Markets.
Also lifting stocks was news that the German GfK consumer
sentiment index held steady in June for the third month.
[] France said consumer spending in April rose by
0.7 percent on March, beating median expectations.
The dollar was up against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.17 percent at 80.161.
The euro <EUR=> fell 0.22 percent at $1.3974. Against the
yen, the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.04 percent at 94.88.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> fell
8/32 in price to yield 3.48 percent. The 2-year U.S. Treasury
note <US2YT=RR> fell 1/32 in price to yield 0.91 percent.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> rose 16 cents, or 0.26
percent, to $61.83 a barrel.
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said there was
already a slight "uptick" in fuel consumption.
Naimi, speaking to reporters ahead of Thursday's OPEC
meeting in Vienna, also said he hoped oil prices would hit $75
a barrel between the third and fourth quarters of this year.
[] []
Spot gold prices <XAU=> fell $5.35 to $952.45 an ounce.
Overnight in Asia, the MSCI index of stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 0.5 percent, while Japan's Nikkei average
<> closed down 0.4 percent.
(To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting; for the MacroScope
Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge
Fund Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub)
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, Burton Frierson and Vivianne
Rodrigues in New York; Jane Merriman, Brian Gorman, Ian Chua
and Jan Harvey in New York; writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by
Dan Grebler)
