* U.S. stocks edge higher after U.S. economic data
* Oil prices firm in tandem with Wall Street
* All eyes on Friday's U.S. payrolls report (Updates with European markets' close)
By Manuela Badawy
NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Stocks and oil rose while U.S. Treasuries fell on Thursday as data on U.S. housing and jobless claims showed the world's largest economy did not appear to be falling back into recession.
Investors began to shift their focus to Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls report from the Labor Department for important clues about the economy.
The euro rose against the dollar, supported by healthy results at Spanish and French bond auctions and stable global equities.
U.S. Treasury debt prices eased as gains on Wall Street undermined the safe-haven appeal of government debt.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares ended flat as investors took a breather after the previous session's jump while recently hit construction stocks extended their recovery, aided by positive U.S. data.
A string of grim economic figures last month fed fears that the U.S. economy could slip back into recession, but a rally on Wednesday in which Wall Street stocks logged their best day in eight weeks eased concerns, which some had deemed overblown.
"Yesterday's rebound confirms that the recent sell-off sparked by fears of a double-dip recession had been exaggerated. After all, the data is not that bad," said Marc Touati, head of economic research at Global Equities in Paris.
On Thursday reports showed pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rebounded unexpectedly in July, factory orders rose slightly and new claims for jobless benefits fell last week.
Touati added, "Tomorrow's payrolls figures will be a mixed bag, but looking forward, the news flow is bound to improve and the equity markets' current levels are a good buying opportunity. Just look at all the M&A activity."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 9.23 points, or 0.09 percent, at 10,278.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 5.86 points, or 0.54 percent, at 1,086.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 14.79 points, or 0.68 percent, at 2,191.63.
"The market was braced for a diaster after what we saw with existing sales, so this is positive, while the factory orders looked a little light compared with expectations," said John Canally, investment strategist at LPL Financial in Boston.
"People are reluctant to do much of anything today except position themselves for tomorrow and digest yesterday's gains."
World stocks <.MIWD00000PUS> hit a two-week high earlier as optimism from strong U.S. and Chinese manufacturing data extended into a second day.
The benchmark FTSEurofirst index, which surged 2.9 percent on Wednesday following strong manufacturing data from the United States and China, is still down 2.1 percent from a peak in early August.
Markets showed little reaction to Thursday's decision by the European Central Bank to keep interest rates on hold at a record low of 1 percent, as expected, amid tepid economic recovery and persistent concerns about the banking sector. [ID:nLDE68114V]
Comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude
Trichet had limited impact on the euro. For details, see
[ID:nLDE6810DM]. The euro
France and Spain sold 12.2 billion euros of bonds, with the average yield on the 5-year Bono dropping at auction and the paper easily absorbed as the yield fell after the tender.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar
Analysts predicted U.S. non-farm payrolls probably fell for a third straight month in August. [ID:nN31235915]
Currency markets are not paying too much attention "to anything but the jobs number tomorrow," said Greg Salvaggio, vice president of trading at Tempus Consulting in Washington.
U.S. Treasury debt prices fell as investors took profits from a recent hefty bond rally and ahead of the jobs report on Friday.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
U.S. crude oil
Spot gold prices