World stocks gain, dollar up against yen after G20 backs Japan

By Richard Hubbard

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar strengthened towards 100 per yen on Monday and shares rose after the G20 accepted Japan's bold stimulus policies, helping to counter the gloom over the global growth outlook.

In a communique after a two-day meeting, the G20 said it would be "mindful" of possible side effects from extended periods of monetary stimulus, without singling out Japan as some in the markets had feared.

The move signals acceptance that reflation of Japan's economy, the world's third largest, is seen as key to any global recovery, still very fragile after years of easy monetary policies by major central banks inn the U.S. and Europe.

"The real issue of deflation in Japan has to be tackled before we can have a genuine global recovery," said James Bevan, chief investment Officer at CCLA Investment Management.

The G20's move has also removed any remaining obstacle to further yen weakness, setting up a test of the symbolic 100 yen to the dollar level.

"Japan not only escaped criticism, but on the contrary won praise as a country that was fulfilling its global obligations...," said Marshall Gittler, head of global FX strategy at IronFX.

"That is in effect the green light for the BoJ's easing, which we expect will push USD/JPY through the magic 100 number in the not-too-distant future - perhaps as early as today."

The dollar was at 99.80 yen, off an intraday high of 99.89 and just below a four-year peak of 99.95 hit on April 11.

The euro also rose against the yen, reaching 130.70 from around 129.98 late on Friday. It was near to a three-year peak of 131.10 set earlier this month.

Against the dollar, the euro eased slightly to $1.3060 after touching a session high of $1.3130 on Friday. The euro, which failed to break above $1.32 recently, has been stuck in a $1.30/32 range for the past week.

ITALIAN RESOLUTION

European stock markets rose for a second straight session, following gains in Asia and Wall Street's Friday rise, helped higher by a jump in Italy's blue chip index after the country's long-running political crisis moved a step closer to resolution.

Milan's FTSE MIB index gained about 2 percent on hopes the re-election of Italy's 87-year old president Giorgio Napolitano will see a new government emerge within days, ending two-months of political stalemate.

The broad FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.6 percent at 1,160 points, while Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX were 0.3 and 06 percent higher.

MSCI world equity index was up 0.2 percent reflecting the better tone seen earlier in Asia when Japan's Nikkei hit its highest level in five years as the yen weakened after the G20 statement.

In the debt market Italian 10-year bond futures rose in response to the political resolution to be up 0.8 percent at 113.80, while safe haven German Bund futures were steady at 146.02.

However, traders expect the moves in German bonds to be limited before the result of key surveys on purchasing managers' activity in April, due on Tuesday, that are expected to show the euro zone remains mired in recession.

COMMODITIES SHAKY

In the commodity markets gold was rebounding from its sharp sell-off last week, though sentiment remained shaky after the precious metal posted its biggest-ever daily loss in dollar terms last Monday.

The spot gold price rose more than 2 percent at one point to a high of $1,427.20 an ounce, well above the two-year low of $1,321.35 touched last week.

U.S. gold futures, which often dictate the spot market, hit a high of 1,427.3 an ounce, up 2.3 percent from the previous close of 1,395.60.

Oil and other industrial commodities such as copper remained weak on lingering worries about the growth outlook and its impact on demand.

Brent has lost 10 percent since the start of April as growth in the United States and China -- the world's two largest oil consumers -- slowed, while recession in Europe deepened.

June Brent crude edged down 9 cents to $99.58 a barrel while U.S. crude for June delivery was mostly steady at $88.05 a barrel after a 3.6 percent loss last week.

(Additional reporting by Anooja Debnath. Editing by Will Waterman and Anna Willard)