* Stocks end higher before Intel reports upbeat earnings
* Weak U.S. retail sales, weekly jobless data boost bonds
* ECB keeps interest rates on hold
By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Global stock markets lacked conviction on Thursday, closing just marginally higher before technology bellwether Intel reported better-than-expected earnings that will likely boost Friday's trading.
The results - a 28 percent increase in fourth-quarter revenue plus a financial forecast well ahead of Wall Street's expectations - helps soften the early disappointing U.S. retail sales and weekly jobless claims data that undermined U.S. stocks. [ID:nN13151343] [ID:nN14168822]
The data reinforced perceptions U.S. interest rates will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.
"The market was able to shrug off the data because as long as news is bad, government stimulus will keep coming," said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at ChannelCapitalResearch.com in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.
Prior to Intel's results, which are not only a technology but also an economic proxy, the weak data helped push U.S. Treasuries higher. A solid auction for $13 billion worth of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds helped. [ID:nN14201569]
"The data have become shakier and these auctions continue to go well," said Lou Brien, market strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago.
The U.S. dollar recovered its losses against the Japanese yen but barely held its advantage against the euro. Earlier the euro was undermined by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet when he reiterated the importance of a strong dollar. The ECB left interest rates unchanged at a record low of 1 percent.
"The U.S. continues to recover at a really slow pace," said Joe Manimbo, a currency trader at Travelex Global Business Payments, in Washington D.C. "If you add that to last week's jobs data, that certainly dampens expectations of an early Fed rate hike. Consequently, that sets the stage for a weaker dollar."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 29.78 points, or 0.28 percent, to 10,710.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 2.78 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,148.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 8.84 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,316.74.
Intel's shares closed up 2.48 percent to $21.48 and traded
around $21.84 a share in after-hours trading. Next up in the
U.S. earnings spotlight is JPMorgan
U.S. financial company share prices recovered, having sold off prior to U.S. President Barack Obama formally proposing that Wall Street pay a fee of up to $117 billion to repay taxpayers for the financial bailout. He lambasted bankers for their "massive profits and obscene bonuses" at a time when the U.S. unemployment rate is in double digits. [ID:nN14122824]
In Europe, shares closed higher, boosted by gains in the pharmaceuticals sector. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> rose 0.67 percent to 1,063.53 points.
MSCI's all-country world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> was up 0.48 percent to 309.18.
DATA IMPACT
The U.S. dollar rose 0.08 percent to 91.21 yen
The weak U.S. data helped lift U.S. Treasury prices. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note
Euro zone government bonds were slightly firmer at their close, with 10-year yields
Concerns remain over Greece's ability to dig itself out of its debt hole and what impact it may have on the euro zone.
The cost of insuring Greece's sovereign debt against default rose to a record high of 334,800 euros per 10 million euros of exposure on Thursday, according to 5-year credit default swap prices from CMA DataVision. [ID:nLDE60D0US]
Analysts in a Reuters poll say there is a one in five chance Greece will seek a financial bailout. [ID:nLDE60C154]
Crude oil prices dropped on a combination of government
data showing increased petroleum inventories and the weak U.S.
economic reports. The price for a barrel of oil was off 0.55
percent to $79.21