* Metal prices rise, lifting mining shares, European stocks
* Crude eases on demand concerns
* Euro under pressue, hitting 4-month low against pound
By Dominic Lau
LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Metal prices firmed on Monday on
strong Chinese demand hopes and on a weaker dollar, lifting
mining shares and European equities, while the euro hit a
four-month low against a broadly firmer pound.
Crude prices, however, were weak as renewed concerns about
energy demand prompted investors to sell down their positions.
Safe-haven government bonds were steady.
European shares advanced, recovering some of the previous
session's losses after JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> reported
higher loan losses.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FEU3> rose 0.5 percent,
while the MSCI All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS> was flat
after Japan's Nikkei average <> closed down 1.2 percent,
tracking weaker Wall Street on Friday after the JPMorgan
quarterly earnings.
Among U.S. banks to report results this week are Bank of
America <BAC.N>, Citigroup <C.N>, Morgan Stanley <MS.N>, Goldman
Sachs <GS.N> and Wells Fargo <WFC.N>. Other non-financial
companies to report quarterly earnings include IBM <IBM.N>,
General Electric <GE.N> and Google <GOOG.O>.
"There is a good deal of anxiety over the upcoming reporting
season where the fear is that the hurdle rate is set too high
and that corporates won't be able to produce topline growth,"
said Mislav Matejka, European equity strategist at JPMorgan.
"However, we think that it would be wrong to write it off."
Metal prices also firmed, with copper prices <MCU3> up 1.2
percent and gold <XAU=> up 0.4 percent.
Crude prices <CLc1>, however, fell for the sixth session to
below $78 a barrel after a spate of bearish news, such as a cut
by the International Energy Agency in its 2010 global oil demand
view and expectations for reduced heating demand in the northern
hemisphere.
A raft of Chinese data this week, ranging from fourth
quarter GDP to December retail sales and industrial production
could give clues on whether domestic consumption in China is
helping to offset persistent weakness in U.S. demand.
But concerns remain that China's central bank could act
again to cool inflation pressures in the economy.
U.S. markets will close on Monday for a national holiday.
EURO UNDER PRESSURE
The euro had been weighed by concerns surrounding Greece and
its ballooning fiscal deficit. Market players will keep a close
eye on comments from euro zone finance ministers meeting on
Monday. []
"The Greek government has lost all fiscal credibility with
the market," said Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. "We are also seeing some risk aversion on
slowing growth momentum in developed economies."
Sterling gained on firmer UK housing data []
and as speculative players chased it higher in relation to news
reports that French utility GDF Suez <GSZ.PA> is eyeing a tie-up
with Britain's International Power <IPR.L>. []
Against the pound, the euro was down 0.4 percent at 88.02
pence, after touching 87.97 pence <EURGBP=D4>, its lowest since
mid-September. Sterling was up 0.4 percent at $1.6337 <GBP=>.
Against the yen, the euro made up earlier losses and stood
at 130.81 yen <EURJPY=R>, up 0.2 percent on the day.
The dollar index, a gauge of the currency's performance
against six other major currencies, eased 0.2 percent.
Yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries <US10YT=RR> were
steady at 3.673 percent, while those on 10-year Bunds
<EU10YT=RR> were down 1 basis point at 3.252 percent.
(Additional reporting by Tamawa Desai in London; editing by
Stephen Nisbet)
