* MSCI world index up 0.17 pct at 272.93, near 10-mth highs
* Chinese stocks fall, safe-haven yen gains
* U.S. stock futures indicate softer Wall St open
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - World stocks hit 10-month highs
for a second day running on Friday following upbeat growth data
from the euro zone, but a fall in Chinese stocks and caution
over the ongoing U.S. earnings season tempered gains.
Most stock markets got a leg-up after Germany and France,
the euro zone's two biggest economies, reported 0.3 percent
second-quarter growth on Thursday, ending their recessions
earlier than expected.[]
However, Chinese stocks <> slid 3 percent to their
lowest close in six weeks and posted their biggest weekly drop
in five months on Friday, with worries about additional share
supplies from IPOs adding to concern over monetary policy and
bank lending.
"A continuation of the weak Shanghai A share index overnight
has raised the call from doves for the potential for another leg
down in Western stock markets," said analysts at Westpac in a
client note.
"If the current trajectory follows that of the first leg of
the Great Depression, the S&P 500 could be 12 percent lower
within a month."
The MSCI world index <.MIWD00000PUS> hit its highest since
Oct 2008 before trimming gains to 273.04, up 0.21 percent from
the U.S. close.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares was up 0.27 percent, holding off the previous session's
nine-month high.
U.S. stock futures <SPc1><DJc1><NDc1> were indicating a
slightly lower open on Wall Street ahead of U.S. data and
company earnings, after getting a lift on Thursday from better
than expected earnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N>, the
world's largest retailer.
World stocks have rallied more than 2 percent in the past
three days, after the U.S. Federal Reserve said this week the
U.S. economy was showing signs of levelling out and it moved to
phase out one emergency measure.
"There's still an ongoing reaction to Wednesday's statement
from the Fed that the economy is stabilising," said Bernard
McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
Oil prices rose for the third consecutive day, and were up
0.38 percent at $70.79 a barrel <CLc1>.
However, losses in Chinese shares were hampering higher-risk
markets. Emerging stocks <.MSCIEF> rose 0.3 percent, but held
below recent 11-month highs.
The yen rose against the euro and dollar, its safe-haven
status boosted by the Chinese stock losses.
The yen gained around 0.40 percent against the dollar to
95.02 <JPY=> after earlier hitting an eight-day high, and also
climbed 0.40 percent against the euro to 135.80 <EURJPY=>.
The euro was steady against the dollar at $1.4288 <EUR=>.
Euro zone government bond futures <FGBLc1> hit a one-week
high, tracking U.S. Treasuries after a well-received 30-year
U.S. Treasury auction on Thursday. The September Bund future was
up 38 ticks.
(Additional reporting by Brian Gorman in London; Editing by
Victoria Main)
