* MSCI world equity index up slightly at 286.05
* Strong JPMorgan results set stage for other earnings
* Dollar down broadly after Fed minutes; euro rises
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - World stocks ticked higher on
Thursday, erasing early losses, while the euro hit a two-month
peak against the dollar after Wall Street major JPMorgan <JPM.N>
reported strong second-quarter earnings.
JPMorgan's earnings jumped to $4.8 billion from $2.7 billion
as loan loss reserves declined, setting the bar high for other
big banks soon to produce results. []
Advanced Micro Devices Inc <AMD.N> and Google Inc <GOOG.O>
are due to report later.
Strong earnings helped allay investor concerns about the
pace of the economic recovery, fuelled after the Federal Reserve
suggested on Wednesday the need for additional measures if an
already softening outlook took a noticeable turn for the worse.
[]
"(JPM reported) very solid results. There is potentially
more to come as the economy stabilises and begins to pick up
growth. Banks are highly reliant upon their trading activities
and JPMorgan obviously being no exception," said Peter Dixon,
economist at Commerzbank.
"It still remains to be seen whether the trading businesses
can produce this kind of stellar growth at a time when market
volatility is picking up."
MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> was up slightly on
the day, just off a three-week peak hit on Wednesday.
The Thomson Reuters global stock index <.TRXFLDGLPU> was
also steady.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <> rose 0.2 percent,
reversing early losses, while emerging stocks <.MSCIEF> were
still down a quarter percent.
CHINA STOCKS FALL
China's key stock index ended 1.9 percent lower, its biggest
fall in two weeks, as Agricultural Bank of China <601288.SS>
disappointed with a lacklustre Shanghai debut. AgBank, the most
active stock, ended up 0.8 percent at 2.7 yuan compared with its
IPO price of 2.68 yuan. []
Earlier data showed China's economic growth moderated to
10.3 percent in the second quarter from 11.9 percent in the
first quarter, slightly below forecasts of 10.5 percent growth.
[]
The euro rose as high as $1.2834 <EUR=> while the dollar
remained under pressure after the Fed minutes, losing 0.6
percent against a basket of major currencies.
"The Fed minutes were particularly dovish, with the
discussion about the possibility of easing measures providing a
soft underbelly for the dollar," said Chris Turner, currency
strategist at ING.
The yen rose 0.3 percent to 88.12 per dollar <JPY=> after
the Bank of Japan said it expected the economy to grow at its
fastest pace in a decade in the year to March 2011, but said the
euro zone debt crisis could pose a risk to the outlook.
The central bank kept interest rates unchanged at 0.1
percent, as widely expected. []
Bund futures <FGBLc1> lost 39 ticks.
U.S. crude oil <CLc1> rose 0.4 percent to $77.36 a barrel.
(Editing by Mike Peacock)
