* Blowout Goldman Sachs results buoy investor sentiment
* Yen, dollar struggle amid modest rise in risk appetite
* Oil climbs over $60 as global equities rally on Goldman
* Bond prices slip on profit-taking after recent rally
(Updates with U.S. markets activity, changes dateline;
previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - Global shares and oil prices
edged higher on Tuesday as some risk appetite returned to
markets after blowout results at Goldman Sachs boosted hope
that corporate earnings for the second quarter will prove
strong.
Other commodities, such as gold and industrial metals,
increased after a larger-than-expected rise in U.S. producer
prices and rising U.S. retail sales in June.
Oil pushed above $60 a barrel before slipping back to trade
near break-even as it switched direction after a week of
losses. The rebound in equities, on expectations that upcoming
earnings will provide signs of recovery, helped buoy crude
prices.
Profits at Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> surged 33 percent
in the quarter as trading results nearly doubled, trouncing
expectations and putting the bank on pace for windfall bonuses
that could draw more unwanted public scrutiny. See
[]
Goldman shares slipped 0.2 percent, a day after they surged
more than 5 percent on expectations of strong results. Its
shares are up nearly 80 percent this year, compared with a 24
percent rise in the NYSE Arca Securities Broker/Dealer index
<.XBD>.
"Goldman Sachs' earnings were a blowout, beating analysts'
estimates by more than a dollar a share," said William
Sullivan, chief economist at JVB Financial Group in Boca Raton,
Florida.
But Wall Street's gains were tentative as doubts persisted
about the economy. Much of the 0.6 percent gain in U.S. June
retail sales was driven by higher gas prices, suggesting
consumers remained wary of stepping up discretionary spending.
[].
U.S. investors braced for more bank results later in the
week from Bank of America Corp <BAC.N>, Citigroup Inc <C.N> and
JP Morgan Chase & Co <JPM.N>. []
At 1 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average <> was up
2.11 points, or 0.03 percent, at 8,333.79. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 1.79 points, or 0.20 percent, at
902.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 2.89 points,
or 0.16 percent, at 1,796.10.
Banking shares led European stocks higher, with the
FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares closing
up 1.2 percent at 840.15 points. []
"The economy is getting close to a turning point," said
Darren Winder, head of macro and strategy research at Cazenove,
in London. "Profits are starting to form a bottom, and they
should grow in the second half of the year and further into
2010."
A rise in risk appetite boosted high-yielding currencies
and those tied to commodity prices such as the Canadian dollar,
which hit a three-week high against the greenback <CAD=>.
The dollar was down against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> off 0.04 percent at 80.091.
The euro <EUR=> was down 0.18 percent at $1.3952, while
against the yen the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.15 percent at
93.11.
The Labor Department on Tuesday also reported that producer
prices jumped 1.8 percent last month, outstripping forecasts
for a 0.9 percent gain. Other data showed business inventories
fell for a ninth consecutive month.
"Retail sales were better than expected, so that's a bit of
good news, but there's been little follow-through as the market
is uncertain which way it wants to trade," said Greg Salvaggio,
vice president of trading at Tempus Consulting in Washington.
U.S. Treasuries and euro zone government bond prices fell
as U.S. traders took profits after a month-long rally. In
Europe the market absorbed nearly 6 billion euros of Italian
auctioned paper. []
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 20/32 in price to yield 3.43 percent. The 2-year U.S.
Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was down 1/32 in price to yield 0.92
percent.
Salvaggio said the sharp rise in U.S. producer prices last
month, which pushed government bond yields up, may stoke
inflation fears. []
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> fell 1 cents to $59.68
per barrel.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $4.50 to $924.50.
Asian stocks gained, as a rally in U.S. financial shares
helped Japan snap a losing streak. Japan's Nikkei average
<> rose 2.3 percent, while MSCI's index of stocks
elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 2.8
percent.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Ellen Freilich, Steven C.
Johnson in New York; George Matlock, Brian Gorman and Emma
Farge in London; writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
