* World stocks hold near 29-month highs on data, earnings
* Egypt worries keep investors, though econ data positive
* Oil keeps climbing as Egypt protests turn violent
(Updates with U.S. closing prices)
By Al Yoon
NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - World shares struggled to eke
out more gains on Wednesday as wariness over escalating
violence in Egypt and rising oil prices muted optimism over the
latest signs of a sustained global economic recovery.
The price of copper, a key industrial metal, hit a record
high on expectations of strong global demand.
Brent crude earlier topped more than $102 a barrel, a
28-month high, on worries that the flare-ups in Egypt could
spread across the Middle East and North Africa, source of more
than a third of the world's oil.
Prices of U.S. crude futures had slipped after data showed
that U.S. stockpiles rose for a third straight week, but
finished moderately higher. U.S. light sweet crude oil <2CLc1>
rose 9 cents to settle at $90.86 per barrel.
"While the oil market wants to move lower on the bearish
(inventory) data, it can't break away from worries about
Egypt," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in
Chicago.
"The latest pictures of Egyptian demonstrations becoming
violent have added to those worries," Flynn said.
The dollar, a traditional safe-haven currency, rose against
the euro on the unrest in Egypt and on signs of dissent over a
euro zone rescue plan.
MSCI's all-country world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS>, one
of the broadest gauges of global equities, rose 0.22 percent
after earlier hitting levels last seen in August 2008.
"Just like everyone else, we are monitoring Egypt very,
very closely in the event we need to make adjustments," said
Dan Fuss, vice chairman of Loomis Sayles, which has more than
$150 billion in assets under management.
Emerging market shares <.MSCIEF> led gains, rising 0.4
percent. They are down more than 1 percent in 2011, however,
reflecting a shift by investors to developed markets such as
the United States, where key indexes on Tuesday hit their
highest closing levels in about 2-1/2 years.
Equities were bolstered by a report by ADP Employer
Services on Wednesday that U.S. private employers added 187,000
jobs in January, more than forecast. On Tuesday, strong factory
data worldwide prodded U.S. benchmark stock indexes higher.
But the civil unrest in Egypt remained a top concern as
violent clashes erupted between opponents and supporters of
President Hosni Mubarak in central Cairo.[].
U.S. indexes ended little changed after a day of see-saw
trade. The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 1.81
points, or 0.02 percent, to 12,041.97. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> slipped 3.56 points to 1,304.03 and the Nasdaq
Composite Index <> fell 1.03 points to 2,750.16.
Appliance maker Whirlpool Corp <WHR.N> fell 2.1 percent to
$82.77 after its profit missed expectations. [].
Time Warner Inc <TWX.N> rose 8.6 percent to $35.10 after
its profit topped estimates on a 21 percent jump in advertising
sales at its cable networks. []. Mattel Inc
<MAT.O> rose almost 1 percent to $24.37 after its profit beat
expectations. [].
"The world economy appears to be improving a little faster
than expected, valuations are OK and companies are publishing
quite good results," Geert Ruysschaert, strategist at BNP
Paribas Fortis Private Banking, said. "Investors can take
advantage of that."
Commodity prices continued to rise on improving global
growth prospects. Copper <CMCU3> hit a record high at $9,988.25
a tonne before settling back at $9,945.25.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> rose 0.2
percent, marking a 3.5 percent year-to-date gain. Earlier,
Japan's benchmark Nikkei <> ended up 1.8 percent for its
biggest daily gain since Dec. 2.
Despite lingering Middle East tension, bids for some
safe-haven assets, including U.S. Treasury bonds, eased.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields rose 0.04 percentage
point to 3.48 percent as their prices fell. Treasuries were
pressured as rising energy and food costs fed worries over
inflation, which erodes the value of bonds over time.
Gold <XAU=> fell $3.60, or 0.3 percent, to $1,336.60 an
ounce, well below its December record high near $1,430.
"The sell-off seemed to illustrate that people had lost
faith in gold and could see much better places to invest," said
Peter Hillyard, an analyst at ANZ Bank in London. "I don't
think people want to sell it," he added. "They are fearful
about what is going to happen in the Middle East, and what
really is going on in the markets."
In currencies, the euro retreated from a 2-1/2-month high
against the dollar as signs of dissension over a euro zone
rescue plan caused some investors to take profits after a
recent rise.
The euro climbed as high as $1.3861 overnight, its best
level since early November, but fell after a German government
official said Berlin opposed allowing a euro zone rescue fund
to buy troubled countries' debt.
A downgrade of Irish government debt also prompted some
euro selling, but analysts said the currency remains in an
uptrend and may yet test $1.40 in the weeks ahead.
"There's a bit of a flare-up in Egypt, and some of our
barometers suggest a hint of renewed risk aversion, but I don't
think it will dissuade investment in high-yield assets," said
BNY Mellon strategist Michael Woolfolk. "And given how far the
euro has come, you would expect to see some profit-taking."
Dollar gains against major currencies were slight, even
after the U.S. private employment data. The U.S. Dollar Index
<.DXY> rose 0.05 percent to 77.104.
The euro <EUR=> fell 0.2 percent to $1.3805, and the dollar
rose 0.27 percent to 81.53 yen <JPY=>.
(Additional reporting by Simon Jessop and Neal Armstrong in
London, and Steven C. Johnson, Ryan Vlastelica and Jennifer
Ablan in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
