* Stocks rise on glimmer of hope in U.S. home sales data
* U.S. Treasury prices fall on issuance concerns
* Dollar falls vs euro after jump in housing data
* Oil edges higher on suggestion OPEC may cut supply more
NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A rebound in pending sales of existing U.S. homes bolstered equity markets and eased safe haven demand for the dollar on Tuesday, but U.S. Treasury bond prices fell sharply on worries about surging debt issuance.
A sell-off in U.S. government debt markets accelerated, driving up U.S. Treasury bill rates to their highest levels since November ahead of another debt auction.
Oil climbed toward $41 a barrel after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries signaled it might cut supply further to help boost prices and drain bloated stockpiles.
U.S. stocks struggled to stay positive. But data showed pending U.S. home sales rose 6.3 percent in December for the first time since August, boosting enthusiasm and offsetting a 5 percent decline in bank shares over fears the government may have to nationalize some or all of the sector.
Bank of America Corp's
Strong earnings at drugmaker Merck
Philippe Gijsels, strategist at Fortis Bank in Brussels, said corporate news will remain bad in a bear market, but the housing data offers a "glimmer of hope."
"It's good to see positive news flow from the U.S. housing markets. This is encouraging as markets seem to react again to good news," he said.
News that the U.S. Federal Reserve extended agreements with several other central banks to meet a global demand for dollars as policy-makers try to keep credit flowing also boosted market sentiment, although it showed credit remains tight.
"The Fed is extending liquidity programs and telling you in the same breath that conditions remain quite strained," said Craig Peckham, equity trading strategist for Jefferies & Co in New York.
Still, Peckham said "we have a lot of investors desperately looking for signs that fundamental improvement is on the horizon."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 21.18 points, or 0.27 percent, to 7,958.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 1.16 points, or 0.14 percent, at 826.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 1.51 points, or 0.10 percent, to 1,492.92.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares closed 1.88 percent higher at 791.61 after having been down as much as 0.9 percent. It fell 2.4 percent the previous session.
Vodafone
Slightly better-than-expected third-quarter revenue forecasts at Vodafone lifted its shares about 7 percent.
U.S. light sweet crude oil
OPEC President Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos, the Angolan oil minister, told Reuters the group could take more action when it meets March 15. An OPEC source later said the group may discuss a further cut of about 1 million barrels a day.
"Prices do seem to have bottomed for now," said Kevin Norrish of Barclays Capital. "OPEC has probably taken more than enough off the market and there's a risk of over-tightening, in which case prices would go back up fairly swiftly."
Gains in the euro were limited as many investors awaited the ECB's policy-making meeting on Thursday, when it is widely expected to leave interest rates on hold at 2 percent.
The euro
The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 0.82 percent at 85.402.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
An announcement by the Bank of Japan of a plan to buy up to 1 trillion yen ($11 billion) in listed shares held by Japanese banks also helped boost sentiment earlier, but its impact may be limited, analysts said.
The housing report "is a real shot in the arm for (risk) sentiment," said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist at Forex.com, in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Spot gold prices
The MSCI index of stocks in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.2 percent. But Japan's Nikkei share average <.N225> fell 0.6 percent after rising as much as 2 percent, as fears about corporate results plagued investors. (Reporting by Vivianne Rodrigues and John Parry in New York; George Matlock, Peg Mackey in London and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, writing by Herbert Lash, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)