GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares, commodities rise on supportive data

* Shares rebound from recent falls after spate of data
* Dollar hits 4-month high v yen, euro near break-even
* Commodity markets stabilize after recent declines

By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Global shares and commodity
prices rose on Thursday, pulled from a recent slide by
encouraging news from Britain and China and as U.S. data helped
lift investors' appetite for risk assets while not flagging any
big concerns.
A gauge of planned U.S. business spending was flat in
September, a sign that heightened uncertainty is weighing on
factories, although new orders for long-lasting manufactured
goods increased during the month.
Other data showed the number of Americans filing new claims
for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting the labor
market is healing after wild data fluctuations at the start of
October.
Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose far less
than expected in September, an industry group said, but the data
continued to point to an improving tone in the housing market.
Wall Street opened higher, following gains in European
equity markets, and the dollar gained slightly against the euro.
Crude oil rose, as did gold and copper prices, on a better
outlook for Chinese manufacturing and strong growth in Britain.
"Generally risk appetitive is very constructive this morning
and the U.S. data did not raise any red flags," Boris
Schlossberg, managing director of Fx Strategy, BK Asset
Management in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 67.62 points,
or 0.52 percent, at 13,144.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
was up 8.44 points, or 0.60 percent, at 1,417.19. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.92 points, or 0.53
percent, at 2,997.61.
European shares, which dropped 3 percent earlier in the
week, were feeling the benefit of the more positive market tone,
with the FTSEurofirst300 index of leading regional
shares rising 0.7 percent to 1100.88 points.
Britain left recession in the third quarter, as its recent
hosting of the Olympics helped it post its strongest quarterly
GDP growth in five years, official data showed.
Also lifting the mood were comments from China's Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology that the country's factory
output should pick up toward the end of the year and a survey
showed Chinese orders at their highest levels in months.

Commodity prices also gained. Brent crude oil rose to around
$109 per barrel, consolidating after seven days of falls, as
better-than-expected data suggested the world economy was
recovering.
Still, analysts said the overall outlook for oil was
bearish.
Brent crude was up $1.05 to $108.90 a barrel,
snapping its longest losing streak since July 2010. U.S. oil
gained 54 cents to $86.27, after settling down for the
fifth straight session.
Gold rose, after a drop to seven-week lows the previous day.
Spot gold prices rose $13.17 to $1,715.10 an ounce.
In the U.S. Treasuries market, benchmark yields touched a
five-week high ahead of the sale of seven-year notes and after
the Federal Reserve on Wednesday stuck to its monetary policy,
prompting some Treasury investors to book profits.
The price of the the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
was down 15/32 for a yield of 1.8453 percent.
The dollar rallied to a four-month high against the yen as
U.S. data and expectations the Bank of Japan will ease monetary
policy next week favored the greenback.
The dollar hit a high of 80.25 yen, its highest since June
25. It last traded at 80.24, up 0.6 percent on the day,
according to Reuters data.
The euro last traded at 104.14 yen , up 0.6
percent on the day,
Against the dollar, the euro was up 0.02 percent at
1.2972.