* Euro gains on expectations of rise in interest rates
* Stocks buoyant, Wall Street starts higher
* Portugal sells bill, but pays price
* Commodities power higher; gold hits record high (Rewrites, updates with Wall Street open, adds quote, details, updates prices, changes byline, dateline previously LONDON)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, April 6 (Reuters) - The euro rose to a more than one-year high year against the dollar on Wednesday ahead of an expected interest rate hike in the euro zone, while global equities gained on a generally brighter economic picture.
Gold rose to a record high, silver touched a 31-year high, and oil held above $122 a barrel, as unrest in the Middle East continued to drive safety bids and the weaker dollar lent support. A weaker greenback makes dollar-priced assets more affordable to holders of the euro and other currencies.
U.S. stocks opened higher as investors bet the upcoming earnings season and more merger activity will continue to lift the market. Mining shares rose with gold prices.
Emerging markets also rose, helped by renewed interest due to higher expectations for interest rates in developed markets. For details, see [ID:nLDE7301MN]
"There's optimism earnings will be good for the first quarter," said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois.
"Semiconductors are up on expectation of more M&A activity in the tech sector," he said.
Portugal added to the positive tone after the battered euro zone peripheral economy successfully sold six- and 12-month treasury bills but had to pay a steep price in interest. [ID:nLDE7350HL]
The European Central Bank meets Thursday and is widely
expected to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis
points from a record low 1.0 percent to curb inflation
pressures.
The prospect of the euro zone's first rise in rates since July 2008 pushed the euro to its highest level against the dollar since late January 2010.
The euro rose as high as $1.4317
Against the yen the euro hit its highest level since May
2010, rising to a high 121.96 yen
The yen was expected to suffer more losses as investors continue to expect the Bank of Japan to lag other central banks in tightening policy.
The dollar weakness supported oil prices, which held near a
2-1/2-year peak. Brent crude
"Central bankers will always claim that they have no influence on oil prices but recent history has repetitively shown that in the new world, where commodities are a global asset, central bankers can have a greater influence on oil prices than OPEC," said Olivier Jakob from Petromatrix.
Spot gold
OPTIMISM RULES
World stocks as measured by MSCI <.MIWD00000OOPUS> were up 0.4 percent percent. Emerging market stocks <.MSCIEF> gained 0.8 percent, while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> gained 0.4 percent.
Shares of European banks rose after the successful Portuguese debt auction.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 39.51 points, or 0.32 percent, to 12,433.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 5.08 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,337.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 15.66 points, or 0.56 percent, at 2,806.85.
Data showing that German industrial orders soared above expectations in February brightened the outlook for Europe's top economy. Orders grew by 2.4 percent on the month, compared to the Reuters forecast for an increase of 0.6 percent. [ID:nLDE7350XH].
"Optimism continues to rule even though there are still ... clear and present dangers. Portugal needs to find some financing fast," said Philippe Gijsels, analyst at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets.
Portugal sold a total of 1.005 billion euros ($1.43 billion) in 12-month and six-month T-bills, but yields rose sharply from previous auctions last month.
The 12-month T-bill yield rose to 5.902 percent from 4.331 percent in the previous auction three weeks ago, while the yield on the shorter maturity rose to 5.117 percent from 2.984 percent in a sale in early March.
Demand, however, outstripped supply by 2.6 times for the 12-month t-bills and by 2.3 times for the six-month T-bills.
"The bill auctions show that Portugal is able to fund itself in the bill markets, but the cost is substantially higher than previous auctions," said Peter Chatwell, rate strategist at Credit Agricole.
"I suspect that as far as the market is concerned, funding at these levels can only be viewed as a temporary measure."
Portugal is struggling hard to avoid being overwhelmed by its debt burden. (Additional reporting by Nick Olivari, Rodrigo Campos, Jessica Mortimer, Atul Prakash and Patrick Graham; Editing by Leslie Adler)