By Stephen Kirkland and Kelly Bit Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose, snapping a five-day slump in the MSCI World Index, and commodities advanced as reports of fewer-than-forecast American unemployment claims and improving earnings tempered concern that the economic recovery was in jeopardy. Treasuries erased gains and the yen weakened. The MSCI World Index of stocks in 24 developed nations rose 0.8 percent at 9:59 a.m. in New York. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.3 percent. The yen and dollar depreciated against most major currencies. The yield on the 10-year was little changed at 2.53 percent after earlier falling to 2.49 percent. Applications for first-time jobless benefits in the U.S. fell by 31,000 last week, easing concern that a weak job market would help send the economy back into a recession. Credit Agricole SA reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates and L’Oreal SA’s earnings increased. “This is a nice number,” said Philip Orlando, the New York-based chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors Inc., which manages about $350 billion. “It significantly improves sentiment. This is the first good macro number we’ve seen in weeks. A lot of folks would say if we were to pick one thing where we need to see improvement, it’s the jobs data, and the claims data is a leading indicator.” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will discuss tomorrow the outlook for the economy at the central bank’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The speech is “critical” as investors want to see policy makers resume quantitative easing, Geoffrey Yu, a London-based currency strategist at UBS AG, wrote in a report today. Jobless Claims The number of people receiving unemployment insurance decreased, while those getting extended benefits climbed, Labor Department data showed today. The median estimate of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected initial claims would drop to 490,000. The jobless report comes a day before Commerce Department releases data on the economy. U.S. gross domestic product probably expanded at a 1.4 percent pace in the second quarter, down from the 2.4 percent rate calculated last month, according to a Bloomberg survey. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rebounded from a five-week low, rising 0.9 percent as more than four shares rose for every one that fell. Credit Agricole rallied 3.2 percent, while L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics maker, climbed 5.7 percent. Kazakhmys Plc, Kazakhstan’s biggest copper producer, advanced 4.5 percent, leading basic-resources companies to the largest gains among the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. Asian Stocks The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.5 percent. Woolworths Ltd., Australia’s biggest retailer, rose 2.4 percent after it forecast increased earnings and said it will buy back shares. Air New Zealand Ltd. gained 4.1 percent after reporting higher profit. Credit-default swaps protecting Ireland’s government bonds dropped 8.5 basis points to 315.5, after yesterday jumping to the highest since March 2009, according to data provider CMA. Investor demand at today’s bill auction was about 10 times more than the February 2011 securities offered and 4.1 times the April 2011 debt, the National Treasury Management Agency said. Ireland had its rating cut by Standard & Poor’s on Aug. 24. The Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of credit-default swaps on 50 mostly junk-rated European companies fell 5.5 basis points to 522.8, Markit Group Ltd. prices showed. The yen depreciated 0.5 percent to 107.55 per euro, while the dollar weakened 0.4 to $1.2705 per euro. The pound gained 0.5 percent to $1.5533. Zinc, Oil Zinc led gains in commodities, rising 4 percent on the London Metal Exchange, the first increase in six sessions. Copper jumped 2.2 percent. Rubber, coffee and wheat also climbed. Crude for October delivery gained 0.4 percent to $72.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, paring gains of as much as 1.7 percent. Yesterday oil rose 1.2 percent to snap a five-day decline and rebounded from an 11-week low. Russia’s Micex Index advanced 1.5 percent, the first increase in three days, and the ruble strengthened 0.6 percent against the dollar. South Africa’s rand appreciated 0.4 percent as rising gold and platinum prices boosted the outlook for export earnings. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 1.2 percent, the most in seven weeks, after economic growth unexpectedly accelerated last quarter to the fastest pace in three years. To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Kelly Bit in New York at kbit@bloomberg.net.

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