* Wall Street gains on earnings, new Caterpillar target
* Bond gains ease after Fed statement, higher U.S. stocks
* U.S. dollar struggles, euro close to 14-month high
* Oil retreats from one-year high above $79 a barrel (Updates with U.S. markets, changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Global stocks surged to fresh 12-month highs on Monday, spurred on by surprisingly strong corporate results, while the bullish mood in financial markets drove U.S. oil prices above $79 a barrel before paring its gains.
The rise in stock prices was helped by the slumping U.S. dollar, which hovered near a 14-month low against the euro as investors bet the Federal Reserve will hold U.S. interest rates near zero well into next year. For details, see: [ID:nN19383668]
Gold prices held above $1,050 an ounce, and U.S. Treasury debt prices were little changed. [ID:nLJ735828] [ID:nN19429615]
European shares hit a fresh 12-month closing high, Asian shares hovered near 14-month highs and the broad S&P 500 set a new intraday 52-week high amid increasing bullishness over the third-quarter earnings season.
Better-than-expected results from such companies as
diversified manufacturer Eaton Corp
Caterpillar
Caterpillar reports quarterly results on Tuesday.
"It keeps going up. It doesn't want to stop. I don't think anybody would dispute that a recovery is underway," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist and head of research at Brewin Dolphin Securities in London.
"The only issue is whether it's going to be sustainable or not. The number of companies beating estimates in their earnings, and also the number beating top line (revenue) forecasts suggest it will be," he added.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> last traded up 101.87 points, or 1.02 percent, at 10,097.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 9.83 points, or 0.90 percent, at 1,097.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 17.42 points, or 0.81 percent, at 2,174.22.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of leading European shares rose 1.6 percent to close of 1,026.46 points, its highest closing level since Oct. 3, 2008.
"Investor optimism is really rising rapidly now for the first time since the March lows and I think a lot of money is bursting off the sidelines as a result," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Nashville.
Meanwhile, oil prices hovered at break-even as traders questioned whether ample fuel supplies justified current price levels. [ID:nSYD166659]
U.S. light sweet crude oil
London Brent crude
U.S. Treasuries were little changed after the New York Federal Reserve said tests of its reverse repurchase agreements tool do not signal it is moving toward monetary tightening. [ID:nN19429615]
Treasuries prices were up after the Fed announcement, but backed off those gains as rising stocks, buoyed by investor optimism over the strength of corporate earnings, sapped the the safe-haven appeal of government debt.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
Ten-year euro zone government bond prices fell in very thin volume trading. Two-year debt yields pulled back from an earlier nine-week peak after U.S. stocks pared initial gains. [ID:LJ84299]
The benchmark MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 0.51 percent and not far from a 14-month peak hit last week. Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> edged down 0.2 percent. (To read Reuters Global Investing blog, click on http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting. For the MacroScope blog, click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope. For Hedge Fund blog, click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub)