Stocks edge up as U.S. yields, dollar ease

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Equities markets inched ahead on Thursday, with investors brushing aside mixed economic data in Europe and the United States, while the dollar slipped after a three-day rally and U.S. Treasury yields declined.

Oil prices rose, with Brent crude topping $66 a barrel on signs a global supply glut may be starting to ease.

Wall Street, which has posted a string of highs recently, traded in a tight range ahead of a speech on Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that will be closely watched for signals on when an era of near-zero U.S. interest rates will end.

Investors shrugged off weaker-than-expected manufacturing and other data, including a rise in weekly claims for state unemployment benefits reported by the U.S. Labor Department.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was last ahead 9.71 points, or 0.05 percent, to 18,295.11, the S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 5.57 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,131.42 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 22.20 points, or 0.44 percent, to 5,093.94.

U.S. Treasuries yields declined on the disappointing economic reports, which revived worries among bond investors about the U.S. economy and whether the Fed would raise interest rates later this year.

In early U.S. trading, benchmark 10-year Treasuries were up 11/32 in price with a yield of 2.211 percent, down 4 basis points from late on Wednesday.

"The economic news is still soft in the second quarter," said Gary Pollack, head of fixed-income trading for private wealth management at Deutsche Bank Asset and Wealth Management in New York.

The dollar index <.DXY> was down 0.12 percent, as the euro rose against the dollar. The euro last traded at $1.1117, a gain of 0.24 percent.

European shares were mostly ahead, recovering from session lows after data pointed to contrasting fortunes in major euro zone economies, with German private-sector growth slowing again in May even as France extended its timid recovery.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was last up 0.3 percent after having traded as much as 0.4 percent lower.

Euro zone leaders were scheduled to meet in Latvia, with Greek premier Alexis Tsipras hoping to secure a broad outline of a cash-for-reforms deal to stave off a default.

But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Reuters the Greek government's optimism about clinching a deal in the coming days was not justified and that he could not rule out it becoming insolvent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> ended little changed in Asian trading.

Tokyo's Nikkei <.N225> ended almost flat after touching a 15-year high. High-flying Chinese shares climbed another 1.2 percent as the third straight monthly contraction in Chinese factory activity bolstered stimulus bets.

Oil rose for a second day and Brent crude reached more than $66 a barrel, supported further by fighting in Iraq. U.S. crude pushed up 1.56 to $60.54 a barrel and Brent was last at $66.62, up 2.5 percent.

Gold held in a range near $1,200 an ounce. [MET/L][GOL/]

(Reporting By Michael Connor in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

WhatsAppFacebookTwitterLinkedinBeloudBluesky