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GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks rebound as US recession ends

Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:05am EDT

Stocks

   

* World equities .MSCI00000PUS rally after U.S. GDP data

* US Q3 GDP beat forecasts slightly, show recession ending

* Dollar .DXY down; US T-bond US10YT=RR down; oil up

(updates throughout, changes dateline)

By Mike Dolan

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - World stocks recovered from three-week lows on Thursday after U.S. gross domestic product data showed the world's biggest economy emerged from recession in the third quarter at a slightly faster pace than expected.

The data, showing annualised growth of 3.5 percent in Q3 compared with a forecast for 3.3 percent, reassured investors who had feared this year's recovery may run out of steam and yet the pace of growth is unlikely to be enough to prompt tighter monetary and fiscal policy yet, traders said. [ID:nN28314202]

"This really is extremely encouraging, and better than what most optimists had expected this morning," said Peter Kenny, managing director of Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City.

The MSCI world index .MIWD00000PUS turned positive after the data, having rebounded from three-week lows set following Wednesday's biggest one-day selloff since August.

Wall St equity futures SPZ9 pointed to a higher open there later. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR jumped six basis points. The dollar .DXY, which has suffered during the recovery due to a greater appetite for riskier overseas investments, fell back.

In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 jumped 1.17 percent, having fallen around 0.2 percent earlier.

Emerging stocks .MSCIEF, which had suffered heavily from this week's global markets shakeout and retreat from risk, halved their early losses to stand down 0.7 percent

U.S. crude oil CLc1 was up 1.6 percent at $78.63 a barrel.

Despite the initial market reactions, many analysts remained cautious.

"Suggestions that this figure mark the end of the recession in the US, although technically correct, ignore the relatively low quality of the growth registered in this release," said Rob Carnell, economist at ING. "Such suggestions also ignore the likely soft fourth quarter that is now in the pipeline. The US economy is not out of the woods yet."

EASING ANXIETY

Earlier, world stocks fell to three-week lows, following a sharp fall on Wall Street, as disappointing European corporate results fanned concerns about the durability of the rebound.

One of the biggest losers was oil major Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) which fell more than 3 percent after its third quarter net profits fell 73 percent and Chief Executive Peter Voser warned of a slow recovery.

Markets are worried that the rally in world stocks -- the benchmark MSCI world equity index was up as much as 75 percent this month from March -- has been overdone.

(Additional reporting by Natsuko Waki; editing by Patrick Graham/Victoria Main)



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