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MSCI index rises with Wall street

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European shares rise after four-day drop

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TSM, GE updates boost sentiment

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U.S. retail sales rise, weekly jobless claims fall

(Updates market movements)

By Sinéad Carew and Marc Jones

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - MSCI's global

equity index was advancing on Thursday while the dollar rose as

investors were encouraged by the latest crop of economic data

and earnings reports.

Data on jobless claims showed that the number of Americans

filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last

week, pointing to steady job growth so far in July, though some

laid off workers are experiencing long spells of unemployment

because of a moderation in hiring.

U.S. retail sales rebounded more than expected in June, but

some of the increase likely reflected higher prices for some

goods exposed to tariffs.

"In economic data two key releases came out today: retail

sales and jobless claims. Both were better than anticipated,"

said Mike Cornacchioli, investment strategy director and senior

vice president at Citizens Private Wealth.

"Those two illustrate the strength of the consumer and the

labor market. So, a lot of the fears that were placed on the

state of the U.S. economy are overblown and have failed to come

to fruition at this point in time. Maybe they will some time

down the line, but this data and the data that's come in lately

has just reinforced the strength of the US economy."

Cornacchioli also pointed to strong earnings reports as a

boost for equities on Thursday.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ), the world's main

maker of advanced AI chips, posted record profits ahead of

expectations. It warned that future income might be hit by U.S.

tariffs, though perhaps not until the fourth quarter. Also, GE

Aerospace lifted its profit outlook with jet engine deliveries

rising as efforts to fix supply constraints showed results.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe

rose 3.86 points, or 0.42%, to 924.97.

Europe's STOXX 600 index rose 0.92%, boosted by

strong earnings after record orders at Swiss engineering firm

ABB and record $13.5 billion profits.

And Wall Street followed Europe higher but at a more modest

pace. At 11:17 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial

Average rose 72.83 points, or 0.16%, to 44,327.61, the

S&P 500 rose 20.73 points, or 0.33%, to 6,284.32 and the

Nasdaq Composite rose 142.41 points, or 0.69%, to

20,872.92.

Thursday's gains follow a dramatic wobble during the prior

session when Trump said he was highly unlikely to fire Federal

Reserve chair Jerome Powell. However he left the door open to

the possibility of ousting him and renewed his criticism of the

central bank chief for not cutting U.S. interest rates.

In currencies, the dollar rose on Thursday after the

economic data.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened

0.47% to 148.56 as polls showed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's

coalition was in danger of losing its majority in the upper

house in upcoming elections.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,

rose 0.37% to 98.71. The euro was down 0.4% at $1.1587.

U.S. Treasury yields edged lower after briefly spiking

following the economic data which showed the world's largest

economy on a stable footing and supported the Fed's patient

stance on monetary easing.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell

1.2 basis points to 4.443%, from 4.455% late on Wednesday while

the 30-year bond yield fell 2.4 basis points to

4.9905% from 5.015%.

However, the 2-year note yield, which typically

moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal

Reserve, rose 2.4 basis points to 3.909%, from 3.885% late on

Wednesday.

In commodity markets, oil prices rose even as global trade

tensions appeared to cool, with analysts pointing to low

inventories and renewed Middle East risks as factors supporting

the market.

U.S. crude rose 1.18% to $67.16 a barrel and Brent

rose to $68.99 per barrel, up 0.69% on the day.

Gold prices were lower after the upbeat U.S. economic data

aided the Fed's cautious stance on rate cuts.

Spot gold fell 0.42% to $3,332.19 an ounce. U.S. gold

futures fell 0.63% to $3,331.40 an ounce.