* U.S., European shares rally following China data
* BP shares get reprieve in U.S. trading
* Spain bonds get strong demand, aiding euro (Updates to U.S. markets, changes byline, dateline, previous London)
By Al Yoon and Jeremy Gaunt
NEW YORK/LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - World stocks climbed on Thursday with Wall Street rallying and the euro rising after China reported solid export data and Spain successfully tapped bond markets, easing European debt concerns.
The European Central Bank and Bank of England both kept interest rates unchanged, as expected.
China confirmed that exports jumped 50 percent in May from a year ago, reassuring investors about the global economy in the face of the euro-zone debt crisis. Europe is China's biggest overseas market. For details, see [ID:nTOE65901X]
In the United States, a moderate economic recovery appeared underway as the trade deficit widened slightly in April and the number of U.S. workers filing new unemployment claims fell, albeit less than expected. [ID:n09208728]
"The reaction to the China data was a fairly nice bounce in the euro overnight," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co in Lake Oswego, Oregon. That led to a movement up in European stocks that spilled over to the United States, he said.
U.S, stocks have been closely tied to the movement in the euro as investors use the currency as a barometer for confidence in the euro-zone economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 205.07 points, or 2.07 percent, to 10,104.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 20.74 points, or 1.96 percent, to 1,076.43 and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 37.23 points, or 1.72 percent, to 2,196.08.
European shares shrugged off losses after the rise in Chinese exports, which ran counter to persistent fears the global economy was faltering.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> rose 1.4 percent, extending gains as New York trading began. Asian stocks also gained, with Japan's Nikkei <.N225> ending up 1.1 percent.
MSCI's all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> and the Thomson Reuters Equity Global Index <.TRXFLDGLPU> both rose about 1.8 percent.
U.S.-traded shares of oil company BP Plc
The company's London shares
Several analysts said the sell-off in BP was not justified because the company still has ample cash reserves to cover the clean-up costs of the spill but that political pressure had created uncertainty in the markets.
"It's tough to make price predictions on the stock, but I think the downside risks are outweighed by the near-term upside potential," said Mike Breard, analyst with Hodges Capital Management in Dallas.
FIRMING EURO
The euro, drubbed in recent days on concern that investors may balk at funding debt-laden European nations, rose after signs of strong demand at a Spanish bond auction. The currency hit its high for the day as the European Central Bank said its government bond purchase program should not be viewed as a change to monetary policy.
The euro
The dollar declined against a basket of major
trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY>
falling 0.82 percent to 87.177. The dollar
Europe's common currency got an earlier boost after Dai Xianglong, chairman of $114 billion China's National Social Security Fund, said the euro would gradually stabilize and that the U.S. fiscal deficit remained a big concern, tempering safe-haven demand for the dollar. [ID:nTOE659041]
There have been some concerns in currency markets that the debt crisis would persuade central banks, including China's, to cut back on their euro reserves.
U.S. Treasuries fell as signs of improvement in weekly U.S.
jobless insurance claims added fuel to a sell-off ahead of a
30-year bond auction. Benchmark 10-year note yields
In energy and commodities, U.S. light sweet crude oil