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Stocks edge up as French government ditches savings

measure

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Trump buoys dollar with tariff threat on BRICS

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China stocks boosted by robust manufacturing surveys

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Japan bond yields hit 16-year high on BOJ rate hike bets

(Updates throughout with French government budget concession;

refreshes prices at 1310 GMT)

By Amanda Cooper

LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Stocks in Europe steadied on

Monday, after the French government said it would scrap a

proposed budget reform as a concession to its far-right

coalition partner, lifting overall investor sentiment and

putting U.S. equities on track for a modest rise.

The French administration said on Monday there will be no

change to medication reimbursements in 2025, ditching earlier

plans to tighten the system as part of a wider savings push.

European shares, helped by a bounce-back in France

, forged higher, while U.S. stock index futures

turned modestly positive, suggesting benchmark indices

could rise beyond Friday's record-high close .

"Clearly, the financial issues aren't going to go away, but

nor are they going to bring the house down in short order," IG

Markets chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.

"It's understandable - the risk-on move from key assets,

hoping that this might lead to some kind of agreement."

The euro itself gained little respite, down 0.6%

to $1.05095, as the dollar got a boost from U.S. President-elect

Donald Trump at the weekend, who warned BRICS emerging nations

against trying to replace the greenback with any other currency.

France's National Rally (RN) had given Prime Minister Michel

Barnier until Monday to yield to the far-right party's demands

for concessions in his proposed budget or face the possibility

of it backing a no-confidence motion.

In June, the premium, or spread that investors demand to

hold French rather than German sovereign bonds - widely

considered the benchmark for Europe - burst above 80 basis

points for the first time since the 2012 euro zone debt crisis.

That spike resulted from a dismal result in European

parliamentary elections which prompted President Emmanuel Macron

to call a snap vote, resulting in Barnier's fragile coalition.

On Monday, that spread was around 81 bps, some 1 bp wider on

the day and below the session high of 86 bps and below last

week's 12-year high of 90 bps.

The euro was down 0.6% at $1.0513 against the dollar. It has

lost some 6% in value since late September, when it hit 14-month

highs, in part because of concern that the health of the euro

zone economy might require the European Central Bank to deliver

deeper interest-rate cuts than previously expected.

"Heightened political uncertainty could also play a role at

the margin in keeping alive market expectations for larger 50

bps ECB rate cut this month although the hard economic data is

not fully supportive," MUFG currency strategist Lee Hardman

said.

DOLLAR FIRM

Beyond France, global stocks edged up, leaving the MSCI

All-World index up 0.1%.

The Federal Reserve is in sharp focus and Friday's monthly

payrolls report could be the deciding factor when policymakers'

consider whether or not to cut rates again on Dec. 18.

A number of Fed officials are due to speak this week,

including Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday. Traders put the

odds of a quarter-point reduction at about 66%.

That has left the dollar index, which measures the

currency against six others, up 0.3% at 106.36, having gained

1.8% in November.

In Asia, mainland Chinese shares closed up 0.8%,

following a robust reading in a private manufacturing survey on

Monday.

The yen, meanwhile, weakened 0.3% to 150.18, but

remained near Friday's six-week high of 149.47.

Gold sank 0.5% to $2,640 an ounce, under pressure

from the strong dollar, after sliding more than 3% in November,

its worst monthly performance since September 2023.

Oil prices rose after the Chinese manufacturing data, and as

Israel resumed attacks on Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement,

which stirred up concern about potential supply disruption from

the region.

Brent crude and U.S. futures were both up 1.1% at

$72.63 a barrel and $68.76, respectively.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo and Ankur

Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Kate Mayberry, Shri

Navaratnam, Ed Osmond, Jan Harvey and Alexander Smith)