* Wall St advances on sturdy manufacturing data
* European stocks up on data; China drives Asia lower
* Dollar drops vs euro; oil, copper dip on China
(Updates to late afternoon, adds comments)
By Sinead Carew
NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - U.S. and European stocks climbed
on Monday after mixed U.S. economic data and slightly
stronger-than-expected German factory activity, even as weak
Chinese data dragged down Asian markets.
While data showed U.S. manufacturing activity slowed in
October for a fourth month to a 2-1/2-year low, a rise in new
orders offered hope. Also, construction spending rose in
September to the highest in 7-1/2 years urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12X114.
Oil prices and Asian stock markets retreated after China's
factory activity fell for an eighth month in October, albeit at
a slower pace, pointing to continued sluggishness in the world's
second-largest economy. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12U3UH
However, activity in Germany's powerful manufacturing sector
dipped last month from September but beat economists' early
estimates, helping European stocks. The pan-European
FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 stocks index closed up 0.3 percent,
with Germany's Dax .GDAXI ending up 0.9 percent.
"The global economy is on track for growth," said Ed Hyland,
global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, adding
that any fears about a recession, particularly in developed
markets, were fading.
U.S. stocks advanced on the sturdy U.S. and European data,
and as investors put cash to work on the first trading day of a
new month and a new fiscal year for mutual funds, said Andrew
Frankel, co-president of Stuart Frankel & Co in New York.
"I'm seeing more money flows than fundamental news," said
Frankel, adding that U.S. investors seemed less fearful of the
China data. "It's certainly on their radar but people have grown
a little more comfortable."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 88.46 points,
or 0.5 percent, to 17,752, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 13.5
points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,092.86 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 46.10 points, or 0.91 percent, to 5,099.85.
Worries over slowing growth in China had rattled financial
markets in recent months, despite steps by the Chinese
authorities to stimulate the economy.
MSCI's main Asia-Pacific index .MIAPJ0000PUS , which tracks
shares in key markets in the region, touched its lowest level in
two and a half weeks after the China data.
Bond yields rose on the prospect of higher U.S. interest
rates, after the Federal Reserve left the door open last week to
a first increase since 2006 in December.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest level in
over five weeks, while shorter-dated yields hit their highest in
over six weeks on continued expectations of a possible Federal
Reserve rate hike in December.
"It's just still continued follow-through from the Oct. 28
Fed statement," said Justin Hoogendoorn, head of fixed income
strategy at Piper Jaffray & Co. in Chicago. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12X15X
Gold XAU= hit its lowest level since Oct. 5 on bets the
U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.
The dollar gained back some ground against the euro, which
rose earlier after comments from two members of the European
Central Bank's governing council lowered expectations for a
boost in its stimulus program. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12X13R
The dollar was down 0.1 percent against a basket of major
currencies .DXY . The euro EUR= was up 0.2 percent against
the dollar while the yen JPY= was flat against dollar.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12X13R
Oil prices slid on the prospect of weak Chinese demand and
record-high Russian production. O/R U.S. crude was down 1.2
percent at $46.02 a barrel while Brent crude LCOc1 was last
down 1.4 percent at $48.86 a barrel.