Equity markets gain with oil price, U.S. GDP revision

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Equities in key world markets edged higher on Thursday, supported by an advance in U.S. crude to trade above $50 per barrel for the first time in three weeks, while stocks on Wall Street also got a lift from growth data.

The euro slipped after data showed easing inflation in Spain and Germany, paring back bets on tighter policy from the European Central Bank.

Oil prices rose after Kuwait gave its backing for an extension of OPEC production cuts in an attempt to reduce global oversupply.

"There is a significant chance that a short-to-medium-term bottom has been found," said Tamas Varga, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.

U.S. crude last rose 1.6 percent to $50.30 a barrel and Brent traded at $52.92, up 1.0 percent on the day.

Banks and energy led U.S. stocks higher as oil prices rose and gross domestic product increased at a 2.1 percent annualized rate instead of the previously reported 1.9 percent pace. Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, was revised up.

Much of the move in U.S. stocks, which drove them to record highs earlier this month, is predicated on the Trump administration's commitment to return to a 4 percent economic growth.

Failure last week to pass a major campaign promise to revamp U.S. healthcare called into question Trump's ability to deliver a tax reform even if his party controls the two chambers of Congress.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.07 points, or 0.27 percent, to 20,715.39, the S&P 500 gained 5.4 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,366.53 and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.08 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,903.63.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was at its highest in seven sessions.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.47 percent, underpinned by a rise in oil stocks. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.08 percent.

Emerging market stocks fell 0.21 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed less than 0.1 percent lower while Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.8 percent.

GREENBACK GAINS FURTHER

The dollar index ticked up 0.14 percent with the euro down 0.39 percent to $1.0724, weakened by the inflation data.

The soft inflation numbers compounded a Reuters report on Wednesday citing sources close to the ECB who said officials there were unhappy with a shift in market expectations toward tighter monetary policy and higher euro zone interest rates.

"That sort of off-the-record briefing that came through (Wednesday) and German inflation this morning do seem to have pulled the rug from under the euro," said Nick Parsons, a strategist with National Australia Bank in London.

Sterling bounced from a one-week low of $1.2375 hit Wednesday, and was last trading at $1.2489, up 0.46 percent on the day.

The dollar index briefly turned lower earlier after a CNBC report said the Trump administration is "assessing the scope of its power to penalize countries whose currencies it believes are undervalued."

The report provided no details about how the administration would do this.

Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly with support of the GDP data. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 7/32 in price to yield 2.4125 percent.

Spot gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,247.96 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.5 percent to $1,247.40 an ounce.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Dion Rabouin & Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)