LONDON, Dec 11 - The dollar stayed firm against the euro on Thursday and European stocks held their small gains after stronger than expected U.S. retail sales data. However Wall Street was seen opening flat after an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims took the shine off the sales report. The Commerce Department said sales rose 0.9 percent in November, boosted by auto and electronics sales, exceeding Wall Street expectations for a 0.7 percent rise. Jobless claims rose by 13,000 to 378,000, the highest level in six weeks. U.S. stock index futures were marginally down after the data, indicating a flat start. European shares held their earlier gains on upbeat comments from semiconductor maker STMicroelectronics and after the drop in the euro against the dollar boosted car makers. "The euro is below $1.22...That's probably why autos are up," said Joerg Kraemer, chief strategist at Invesco Asset Management.
Italian foodmaker Parmalat plunged 50 percent as a three-day trading suspension was lifted. The FTSE Eurotop 300 index <.FTEU3> was 0.1 percent higher and the narrower DJ Euro STOXX 50 index <.STOXX50E> was up 0.11 percent. Japanese stocks rose, with the main index topping 10,000, as exporters prospering after suspected Bank of Japan intervention on Wednesday sent the yen lower against the greenback. Japanese car makers and other exporters were lifted by the weaker yen. "The Bank of Japan sold the yen and the market has welcomed that," said Masaru Ueda, head of investment strategy at Marusan Securities. "But with foreigners mostly out of the market ahead of Christmas, it does not really have much more momentum than a technical rebound." The Nikkei index <.N225> closed 1.66 percent higher at 10,075.14 points while the broader TOPIX index <.TOPX> ended up 1.06 percent.
DOLLAR LIFTS OFF LOWS
The dollar was half a percent firmer against the euro at $1.2158, compared with Tuesday's record low around $1.2276. The U.S. currency was last at 108.32 yen , steady on the New York close but 1.5 yen above a three-year low hit on Tuesday. U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors took profits and remained cautious ahead of the retail sales data. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 0.02 percent and the technology-dominated Nasdaq <.IXIC> shed 0.19 percent. Euro zone government bond yields stayed higher after the data. "It is a bit of a mixed bag," said Audrey Childe-Freeman, European economist at CIBC World Markets. "You have to find some encouragement from the retail sales data, which shows that there is still life in the U.S. consumer sector." The two-year German Schatz yield was 1.8 basis points higher at 2.68 percent, compared with a 2.875 percent high struck on December 1, while the 10-year Bund yield was 2.3 basis points higher at 4.38 percent. There was little reaction to European Central Bank forecasts which saw higher euro zone inflation in 2004 but kept the bank's growth outlook unchanged.//