* Wall Street slips, but on track for best year since 2003 * Dollar index up 3.5 pct in Dec; off about 4 pct in 2009 * Oil, above $79, set for biggest annual gain since 1999 * 10-yr notes set for worst annual performance since 1999 (Updates with U.S. markets, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The dollar strengthened on Thursday and world stocks edged higher, lifting many equity markets to their best performance in at least a decade on signs that a global economic recovery is fully under way.
Oil rose to almost $80 a barrel in thin trade, poised for the biggest annual climb in a decade, a year after posting a huge drop in late 2008 as the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression sapped demand. For details, see: [ID:nSGE5BU05X]
Lower-than-expected initial U.S. jobless claims for the latest week led to higher expectations of recovery and undermined the safe-haven appeal of bonds, which were on track for their worst annual performance since 1999, according to Reuters data. [ID:nN31335955]
Equity markets worldwide glowed. Asia stocks racked up a 68 percent gain for the year, regional European shares climbed 25 percent -- their best annual performance since 1999 -- and Wall Street was poised for its best year since 2003.
MSCI's all country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.06 percent, and was up almost 32 percent for the year.
U.S. equity markets slipped on Thursday, bucking the day's global trend, after the December reading of the Institute for Supply Management's Chicago index was revised downward to 58.7 from the 60.0 level that was reported on Wednesday.
The employment component of the Chicago index was revised to 47.6, below the threshold of 50 that represents expansion, taking some of the boss off the jobless numbers. [ID:nN3199834]
"The employment revision is concerning and is causing a pall on the markets," said John Brady, senior vice president at MF Global in Chicago.
"While today's light volume is exaggerating the importance of this, it's never good to hear that growth wasn't as strong as originally reported."
After midday, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 45.80 points, or 0.43 percent, at 10,502.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 3.19 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,123.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 5.17 points, or 0.23 percent, at 2,286.11.
In Europe, shares climbed as mining stocks tracked firmer metal prices. [ID:nLDE5BU0LQ]
Copper rose more than 1 percent to a fresh 16-month high, notching a 139 percent annual increase as fund buying and a looming mine strike in Chile buoyed prices on the last day of 2009. [ID:nLDE5BU09B]
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of leading European shares rose 0.24 percent to close at 1,045.76 points.
Britain's leading share index, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, gained 0.3 percent after a subdued half-day trading session on New Year's Eve, registering a 22 percent increase for 2009, its biggest annualized gain since 1997. [ID:nLDE5BU0IU]
"It has been a belting year. But 2010 is going to be a different kettle of fish and is likely to be a lot more difficult," said Jim Wood-Smith, head of research at Williams de Broe.
For a graphic comparing the 2009 performance of major stock markets, click on: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/129/GLB_MKTS1209.gif
The dollar hit a 3-1/2-month peak against the yen after data showed initial applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell to their lowest level since mid-2008, increasing optimism about the U.S. economy. [ID:nN31182772]
The greenback also erased earlier losses against the euro and was headed for its best month against a basket of major currencies since January. Many analysts see the recent data is a harbinger of strong growth next year and may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected.
Initial claims dropped 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 432,000 in the week ended Dec. 26, from a revised 454,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department said.
"These numbers are very strong -- the best since July 2008. That shows that the job market is stabilizing," said John Doyle, currency strategist at Tempus Consulting in Washington.
The dollar index is up about 3.5 percent in December, but remains down about 4 percent for the year.
In early afternoon trading, the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY>, which measures the dollar's performance against a basket of major currencies, dipped 0.06 percent to 77.871. The euro
Against the yen, the dollar
U.S. light sweet crude oil
U.S. oil futures were on track for the sharpest annual percentage gain since 1999, but remained almost half the all-time high of $147.27 hit in July 2008.
For a FACTBOX on global market losses and gains for 2009, click here [ID:nLDE5BT0P8]
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
Yields rose more than 150 basis points this year on growing optimism for an economic recovery and worries about the impact of trillions of dollars of new U.S. government debt.
Gold was set to post its biggest yearly gain in three decades, rising for an unprecedented ninth consecutive year, as dollar-hedging traders and central banks joined investors who turned to gold for price performance and protection. [ID:nLDE5BU09U]
Spot gold prices
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.2 percent in thin trade, marking its best performance since 1993. (Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica, Steven C. Johnson, Edward McAllister and Chris Reese in New York, and Joanne Frearson in London; Writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by Jan Paschal)