GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks cling to gains, bonds hover ahead of U.S. payrolls

(Updates prices throughout)
* European stocks subdued with industrials, miners leading
falls
* German industrial orders suffer sharp fall in May
* China iron ore futures tumble after Wednesday record
* Asia's MSCI index ex-Japan headed for 5th straight weekly
gain
* Investors focussed on U.S. non-farm payrolls
* Global bond yields near record lows on easy policy
expectations

By Karin Strohecker
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - World stocks clung to their
17-month highs on Friday and bonds paused after this week's
rally ahead of U.S. jobs data, a gauge that could stoke or
temper market expectations about aggressive policy easing by the
Federal Reserve.
Trade across global markets was expected to remain subdued
following the Independence Day holiday in the United States on
Thursday and ahead of the non-farm payrolls report.
Though European bourses suffered with the pan-region STOXX
600 .STOXX slipping 0.3%, dragged lower by the basic resource
.SXPP and industrial goods & services sectors .SXNP which
both fell more than 1.5%.
The losses came after German data showed industrial orders
had fallen far more than expected in May, and a warning from the
economy ministry this sector of Europe's largest economy was
likely to remain weak in the coming months. A sharp drop in China iron ore futures hit miners.
Technology shares .SX8P retreated 0.9% after Samsung's
005930.KS dour forecast showed the impact of U.S.-China trade
war on global chip and smartphone markets, sending Infineon
IFXGn.DE , STMicroelectronics STM.MI and Siltronic WAFGn.DE
as much as 1.5% lower. U.S. futures pointed to a softer opening for Wall Street as
well with E-Minis for the S&P500 ESc1 at -0.1%.
"Devastating new orders data just undermined any hopes for
an industrial rebound. We are starting to lose our optimism,"
said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING Germany.
"Combined with the weakest June performance of the labour
market since 2002 and disappointing retail sales, today's new
orders wrap up a week to forget for the German economy. The fear
factor is back."
The losses in Europe followed gains in Asia, where MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares ex-Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS
was set for its fifth straight weekly rise. Japan's Nikkei
.N225 added 0.2%. Chinese shares were slightly higher with the
blue-chip index .CSI300 up 0.5%.
World stocks and bonds have rallied since June on hopes
global central banks will keep policy easy to support growth. A
ceasefire in the protracted Sino-U.S. trade war has also
bolstered sentiment.
All eyes were now on U.S. non-farm payrolls, due later in
the day, which are expected to have jumped by 160,000 in June
compared with 75,000 in May. "This will be the last employment report before the FOMC
meeting at the end of this month for which markets are pricing
in 33 basis points of cuts as of this morning," Deutsche Bank's
Craig Nicol wrote in a note to clients.
Fed futures 0#FF: are fully pricing in a 25-basis-point
cut when the Fed meets on July 30-31. Investors also see a 25%
chance of a 50-basis-point reduction.
"What today's report says about the trends in hiring and
income growth could meaningfully impact market expectations so
expect there to be just as much focus on hours and wages as the
headline payrolls reading."
The Fed would not be alone in embarking on easier monetary
policy. Prospects of global easing have sent government bond
yields to multi-year lows around the world.
U.S. 10-year Treasuries yields US10YT=RR hit their lowest
since November 2016 at 1.941%.
Germany's 10-year government bond yield DE10YT=RR , a
benchmark for euro zone debt, fell to minus 0.4% and breached
the European Central Bank's deposit rate for the first time - a
level analysts say acts as a psychological barrier even though
shorter-dated German bond yields trade well below it.

The easing bund yields dragged the euro EUR= 0.1% lower to
$1.1273 with the common currency on track for the biggest weekly
drop in three weeks. FRX/
The dollar index .DXY was steady at 96.823 though on track
for a 0.8% gain this week. Against the Japanese yen JPY= , the
dollar gained 0.2% to 108.04.
Worries about the health of the global economy also weighed
on commodity markets. Oil prices eased with Brent crude futures
LCOc1 , the international benchmark for oil prices, off 30
cents at $63.00 per barrel while U.S. crude CLc1 slipped 85
cents to $56.49. O/R
Crude markets shrugging off tensions around Iran and a
decision by OPEC and its allies to extend a supply cut deal
until next year was an ominous sign to market watchers.
"When bullish signals fail to lift the oil market's spirits,
we should be very concerned this downtrend could run much
further than expected," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at
Vanguard Markets.
China iron ore futures racked up sharp losses after hitting
a record on Wednesday. China's most-active September iron ore
contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 fell as much
as 4.9% to 838 yuan ($121.89) a tonne. Spot gold XAU= fell 0.1% to $1,413.76 an ounce.

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