* World stocks rise 0.23 pct, close to Sept 2008 high
* Dollar hits record low vs Swiss franc, yuan at peak
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - World stocks approached their
highest since September 2008 on Thursday on optimism about
global growth next year, while the dollar fell on expectations
of further money-printing in 2011 by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
With markets focused on growth prospects for China, a
private survey on Thursday showed the country's vast
manufacturing sector continued to expand strongly towards the
year-end, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in November.
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Reflecting views about increased demand from China and
others for commodities, copper scaled a fresh peak at $9,550 a
tonne <CMCU3>, and U.S. crude oil <CLc1> hovered below a
two-year high near $92 a barrel.
While quantitative easing by the Fed is expected to boost
the U.S. economy, it is also likely to depress the dollar.
"Some market players may be building up positions for the
next year. As the Federal Reserve is expected to keep printing
dollars, the dollar looks set to cheapen next year," said
Tsutomu Soma, manager of foreign securities at Okasan Securities
in Tokyo.
The dollar hit a record low against the Swiss franc <CHF=>,
a 28-year low against the Australian dollar <AUD=D4> and a
seven-week low against the yen <JPY=>, though ongoing concerns
about euro zone debt tempered the U.S. currency's losses against
the euro <EUR=>.
China's yuan <CNY=CFXS> hit a record high against the dollar
after the People's Bank of China set a higher mid-point for the
currency cross, sparking expectation of more yuan appreciation
in the first quarter of 2011.
"The main message from China remains that growth is
accelerating and is poised to again be above trend in Q1 2011,"
said Danske analysts in a client note.
"We still expect China to hike interest rates three times
next year and all hikes are expected to be frontloaded into H1
11. In addition the appreciation pace of the yuan will
increase."
On the last trading day of 2010 for many Asian, European and
Latin American markets, including Japan and Germany, the MSCI
world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> showed a rise of 10 percent
this year. Emerging market stocks <.MSCIEF> have gained 16
percent and European stocks <> have added 9 percent.
World stocks rose 0.23 percent from Wednesday's close,
eyeing September 2008 highs for a second day, but the
FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares dropped 0.2
percent.
German government bond futures <FGBLc1> rose 45 ticks,
pulled up by a rally for U.S. Treasuries after a strong
seven-year note auction, with dealers eyeing a sale of Italian
longer-dated bonds.
(Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo, editing by
Catherine Evans)
