* MSCI world equity index up 0.6 percent to 300.24
* World stocks near 5-month high; gold hits record peak
* Yen hits one-month low vs euro on intervention jitters
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - World stocks hit their highest level in nearly five months on Friday, underpinned by optimism for consumer demand, while the yen hit a one-month low against the euro as threat of Japanese intervention persisted.
Gold hit a record high, backed by a weaker dollar and demand from investors attracted by the metal's role as a hedge against both deflation and inflation at a time the global economy recovers at an uneven pace.
In Europe, Carrefour, the world's second-biggest retailer, led retail stocks higher after it announced a 1.5 billion euro revamp of its hypermarkets which it hopes would help double profits by 2015. "The bias of the market is to go up. That's not because it's getting good data, but it's inclined to wait for better data. It believes there won't be a double dip," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin. MSCI world equity index rose 0.6 percent while the Thomson Reuters global stock index gained by the same amount. Carrefour rose nearly six percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.9 percent. Emerging stocks also added 0.9 percent.
In the United States, Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers release preliminary September consumer sentiment index is due later. Economists expect a reading of 70.0 compared with 68.9 in the final August report.
QE AND RISK APPETITE
Helped by higher risk appetite, flows into high yield bond and emerging market equity funds hit a six-week high, according to fund tracker EPFR.
Equity funds saw an aggregate $9.4 billion of net inflows in the week to Sept 15, while bond funds took in $4.2 billion and money market funds had redemptions of $26.5 billion, the highest in three months.
U.S. crude oil rose 0.7 percent to $75.08 a barrel, helped by the dollar which fell a third of a percent against a basket of major currencies.
The Federal Reserve meets on Tuesday. Fed officials have been weighing diverging views on the how economy is likely to perform next year and the risk further monetary stimulus may do more harm than good.
The yen fell as low as 112.98 per euro, after Japan intervened in the FX market on Wednesday to curb the yen's export-damaging rise. Japan held off draining yen funds that went into the market, effectively easing monetary policy.
"We suggest the Japanese intervention could form part of a broader quantitative easing policy, adding to global liquidity and supporting investor risk appetite," BNP Paribas said in a note to clients.
"Indeed, with the prospects of the Fed also returning to quantitative easing in the months ahead increasing, we would expect commodity and local markets currencies to be generally well supported."
The bund futures held steady.
Gold rose above $1,283 an ounce, helped by a weaker dollar and the prospect of more easing measures by the Federal Reserve next week. Concerns about deflation and inflation in parts of the global economy also prompted flows into the yellow metal.
(Additional reporting by Brian Gorman; Editing by Toby Chopra)