(Adds New York closing levels)
* World equities break 5-day losing streak
* Europe fiscal concern saps euro strength vs. dollar
* Year-end profit-taking and volatility cited
By Al Yoon
NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - World stocks broke five consecutive days of losses on Thursday as U.S. economic reports supported a theme of stronger growth in 2010, while persistent dollar weakness outlasted euro-zone fiscal concerns.
Fiscal costs of steering the U.S. economy out of recession manifested themselves in reduced demand for Treasury debt and higher long-term U.S. borrowing costs.
Wall Street shares rose after the U.S. government said the trade deficit unexpectedly shrank in October, indicating businesses gained traction off the weakened U.S. dollar. Another report showed the four-week average for jobless claims fell for a 14th week, even as initial claims edged higher in the last period.
Despite gains in equities on Thursday, investors globally have been protecting profits and taking few risks before year-end. World stocks as measured by the MSCI soared about 76 percent through last week from their March lows.
"You've had a tremendous movement this year, and you'll see a continued battle between people putting away whatever they've earned this year in profits and investors still thinking there might be more room to run," said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in New York.
Rallies have been capped since November as investors debate the prospects for U.S. growth amid expectations of high unemployment, amid a climate of concern over the credit-worthiness of various troubled economies.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned on Wednesday that Spain risks a debt downgrade in two years if the government does not take tough action on its fiscal deficit.
Fitch Ratings has already downgraded Greece, while Moody's cut the ratings of six Dubai-linked issuers after concluding that no "meaningful" government support would be provided to top firms such as DP World.
MSCI's all-country world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> increased 0.43 percent to 295.27, having lost about 3 percent since hitting a one year-high a week ago.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 68.78 points, or 0.67 percent, to 10,405.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 6.40 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,102.35 and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 7.13 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,190.86.
European stocks rebounded as some investors reassessed risks from the region's more vulnerable economies. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> rose 1.04 percent.
DOLLAR STRUGGLES
The U.S. dollar slipped against the euro on Thursday despite concern about euro zone deficits while Australia and New Zealand's currencies soared as strong economic data hinted at further interest rate rises.
The U.S. economic reports boosted hopes that the economy continued to improve and encouraged modest moves into stocks and other relatively risky assets, which are often financed by borrowing the Japanese yen at low interest rates.
The U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> edged lower by 0.05 percent to
76.001. The euro
U.S. Treasury 30-year bond yields jumped to four-month highs after a poorly bid $13 billion auction rekindled worries over the huge federal budget deficit. Some analysts worried that the long bond auction was a sign of tough times to come for a government that has tried to borrow its way out of a credit crisis.
"It was pretty ugly. The old lump of coal in the stocking," said Kim Rupert, managing director of global fixed income analysis at Action Economics LLC in San Francisco.
The 30-year bond
In energy and commodities trading, U.S. light sweet crude
oil