* Euro hit briefly by Greek worries
* World stocks flat around 15-month highs
* U.S jobs data on Friday in focus
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The euro took a brief battering on
Wednesday on worries the European Union would not rescue
fiscally struggling Greece while global stocks ticked over with
investors eyeing major U.S. data due later in the week.
European Central Bank officials were due to arrive in Athens
later in the day to discuss Greece's financial difficulties, but
foreign exchange markets were stirred up by a media report
quoting ECB executive board member Juergen Stark as saying
Greece would not be bailed out.
He was reported as saying markets were "deluding themselves"
if they thought member states would "put their hands in their
wallets to save Greece".
The euro fell sharply on the report, touching a low of
$1.4285 against the dollar compared with its session high of
$1.4371 <EUR=>.
Starks' reported comments flew in the face of what EU
leaders have suggested, however, and the currency recovered most
of its poise to stand later at $1.4352.
The incident nonetheless underlined the fragility of market
sentiment and worries about Europe's so-called peripherals --
those countries whose financial condition has been hit hardest
by the global economic crisis.
The dollar, which has been weakening in the few days of
trading so far this year, was up slightly against a basket of
currencies <.DXY>.
Most investors are seeking confirmation that the world
economy, and particularly the United States, is recovering in a
sustainable manner.
As a result, much of the focus this week is on the monthly
U.S. jobs data due on Friday.
"The U.S. jobs data on Friday will be important, but the
feedback you are getting shows that the trend is clearly
improving," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB
Stockbrokers in Dublin.
"Expectations for the robustness of growth have improved
significantly over the last few weeks," he said.
STOCKS FLAT
World stocks as measured by MSCI <.MIWD00000PUS> were flat,
having risen more than 2 percent in the two previous trading
session of the year and are sitting at around 15 month highs.
Emerging markets led the way, as they did for much of last
year, with the relevant MSCI benchmark <.MSCIEF> up 0.4 percent.
European shares put in tiny gains. The FTSEurofirst 300
<> was up less than 0.1 percent. It led higher by
financials and miners.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei closed up around 0.5 percent at a
15-month closing high.
Euro zone government bonds were steady, with yields rising
slightly.
(Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; editing by Chris Pizzey)
(To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting; for the MacroScope
Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge
Hub click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub)
