US STOCKS-Wall St rises on recovery bets, General Mills

* Global manufacturing data buoys markets

* General Mills sees solid profit, stock jumps

* Dollar weakness lifts multinational, commodity companies

* Dow up 0.9 pct; S&P 500 up 0.7 pct; Nasdaq up 0.8 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US]
(Updates to mid-afternoon, changes byline)

By Ellis Mnyandu

NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday,
the first day of the third quarter, as investors took
reassuring manufacturing data from China, Europe and the United
States as a fresh signal that the world's economy is on the
road to recovery.

A day after Wall Street closed out its best quarter in a
decade, investors plowed new money into stocks, boosting
growth-sensitive sectors like energy, industrials, technology,
materials and consumer discretionaries.

A weaker U.S. dollar also spurred share prices of
multinational companies such as Coca-Cola (KO.N) , up nearly 3
percent to $49.33, as investors bet the U.S currency's decline
might boost overseas earnings.

"You've got new money coming in for the new quarter," said
Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc, an
investment advisory firm in Toledo, Ohio. "With the weakness of
the dollar, you have flight into multinationals, other dollar
plays and commodities will be part of that, too."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 77.01
points, or 0.91 percent, to 8,524.01. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index .SPX climbed 6.55 points, or 0.71 percent, to 925.87.
The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC rose 14.64 points, or 0.80
percent, to 1,849.68.

General Mills Inc (GIS.N), the maker of Cheerios cereal,
also gave investors more reason to be optimistic about the
economy after the food company forecast a
stronger-than-expected annual profit, sending its stock up 3.4
percent to $57.93. For details, see [ID:nBNG512328]

Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) , another major U.S. food company,
jumped 5.2 percent to $26.65.

Even so, volume was light because of the absence of most
market players in a holiday-shortened week. U.S. financial
markets will be closed on Friday for the U.S. Independence Day
holiday.

In the latest readings on the global economy, surveys from
Europe showed manufacturing was shrinking less than initially
thought and in China's case, growing modestly. [ID:nPEK138883]

Other data on Wednesday showed the U.S. manufacturing
sector shrank in June but at a slower pace than during the
prior month. The Institute for Supply Management said its index
of national factory activity edged up to 44.8 to in June from
42.8 in May. [ID:nN01366244]

Additionally, global outplacement consultancy Challenger,
Gray & Christmas data showed planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell
to a 15-month low in June.

That news, coming a day before the release of the
government's June non-farm payrolls report, eclipsed the ADP
Employer Services payroll survey showing that private employers
cut 473,000 jobs in June.

Prospects of a better world economy lifted commodity
prices, boosting stocks in natural resource companies including
miners, with Newmont Mining Corp (NEM.N) up 3.4 percent at
$42.27.

Shares of Chevron Corp (CVX.N) rose 0.6 percent to $66.62,
while Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) added nearly 1 percent to $70.54.
Both stocks were off their best levels, however, after crude
oil futures reversed an initial climb that sent them above $71
a barrel earlier on Wednesday.

U.S. front-month crude CLc1 slipped $1.11, or 1.6
percent, at $68.78 a barrel, after rising as high as $71.85
earlier.
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)