* Yen, dollar fall on slower decline in US jobless claims
* Oil rises, snaps six-day slide on gasoline buying
* Bonds fall, profit-taking sets in after 30-year auction
* Wall Street ekes out gain in choppy session
(Adds close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - A bout of risk aversion that
swept financial markets this week eased on Thursday after U.S.
jobless claims declined, lifting global stocks and commodities,
including oil, while curbing the appeal of government debt.
The U.S. dollar and yen both fell as investors pared back
on safety trades after the Labor Department reported the number
of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last
week, easing concern about the U.S. economy.
Crude oil prices snapped a six-day losing streak after
tumbling below $60 a barrel, and other commodities rallied as
the weak dollar helped boost the price of raw materials in
local currencies.
Copper prices rallied sharply as investors mulled comments
by the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday that the global
economy was slowly starting to emerge from the worst recession
since World War Two.
Also boosting investor sentiment was data showing a
widening trade surplus from Germany that capped a week of
positive developments in Europe's largest economy, and a senior
German official told Reuters the country's recession may have
ended.
The optimism countered recent fears that signs of recovery
would not blossom into growth. The U.S. jobs data was distorted
by an unusual pattern of layoffs in the automotive industry,
which amplified the drop in claims investors cheered.
"People now wonder which trend will be more powerful -- the
one seen over the last five days when people sold risky assets
or the one today where they're buying risky assets back," said
David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital markets
in Toronto.
"A lot will depend on forthcoming earnings reports and how
the equity markets respond," Watt said.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed up 4.76
points, or 0.06 percent, at 8,183.17. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> gained 3.12 points, or 0.35 percent, to 882.68.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> advanced 5.38 points, or
0.31 percent, to 1,752.55.
European shares rebounded after five straight sessions of
losses, with the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares closing up 0.8 percent at 823.32 points.
Higher stock prices helped reduce the safe-haven appeal of
government securities, while the Bank of England's decision not
to boost its debt purchase program pared expectations the
Federal Reserve would enlarge its Treasury buying plan.
U.S. Treasury debt prices fell, euro zone government bond
futures eased and British government bonds tumbled on the BoE
decision.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 23/32 in price to yield 3.39 percent. The 2-year U.S.
Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was down 1/32 in price to yield 0.93
percent.
Sterling climbed after the Bank of England kept its
quantitative easing target unchanged, relieving concerns that
the inflationary policy would be continued.
The dollar was down against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 1.09 percent at 79.883.
The euro <EUR=> was up 1.11 percent at $1.403. Against the
yen, the dollar <JPY=> was down 0.17 percent at 92.97.
Talk of refinery shutdowns spurred concerns about U.S.
gasoline supply, ending a six-day slide in crude prices.
U.S. crude <CLc1> settled up 27 cents to $60.41 a barrel.
Crude had fallen from $71 in the previous six sessions. London
Brent crude <LCOc1> gained 67 cents to settle at $61.10.
Gold futures ended higher as a sharp fall of the dollar
against the euro boosted bullion's appeal
U.S. August futures <GCQ9> settled up $6.90 at $916.20 an
ounce in New York.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Richard Leong and Nick Olivari
in New York; Martina Fuchs, David Sheppard, Brian Gorman and
Christina Fincher in London; writing by Herbert Lash; Editing
by Chizu Nomiyama)
