* U.S. stocks up slightly in midday trading
* European shares end lower; eyes on Thursday's ECB meeting
* U.S. bond yields rise on jobs momentum, government supply
(Updates with U.S. market openings, changes dateline, previous
LONDON)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, March 7 (Reuters) - Brent oil prices hit a high
for the year above $40 a barrel on Monday after data showed a
smaller-than-expected build in U.S. crude stockpiles, helping
U.S. stocks extend recent gains.
Brent LCOc1 was last up $1.87 at $40.59, while U.S. crude
CLc1 rose $1.58 to $37.50.
That lifted shares of energy stocks, which led gains in the
S&P 500. The energy index .SPNY climbed 1.5 percent. Biotechs
also rallied, helping to support the broader market.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 65.23 points,
or 0.38 percent, to 17,072, the S&P 500 .SPX had gained 3.86
points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,003.85 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC had added 9.78 points, or 0.21 percent, to 4,726.80.
MSCI's all-country world stock index .MIWD00000PUS edged
up 0.2 percent. In Europe, the pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300
index .FTEU3 provisionally closed down 0.3 percent.
The euro tumbled against the dollar before Thursday's ECB
meeting at which policymakers are expected to cut interest rates
further into negative territory.
The euro was 0.5 percent lower at $1.0950 EUR= and down
0.7 percent at 124.34 yen EURJPY= . The U.S. dollar index
.DXY was down 0.2 percent.
"The U.S. economy is doing relatively well. The dollar will
likely hang on to its gains right now," said Sireen Harajli,
currency strategist at Mizuho Corporate Bank in New York.
In the U.S. bond market, U.S. Treasury yields rose in
volatile trading as traders increased bets the Federal Reserve
will raise interest rates this year in the wake of a strong
February jobs report and ahead of a ECB meeting.
Friday's payrolls data showed 242,000 jobs were created
last month and assuaged fears the U.S. economy could be headed
into recession. It also revived prospects of further Federal
Reserve interest rate hikes this year, something markets had
priced out.
The benchmark 10-year note's yield rose to 1.918 percent,
its highest in just over a month. It was last down 9/32 in price
to yield 1.9127 percent, up from 1.883 percent late on Friday.