GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares rise after strong earnings; euro hits 7-month low

* Dollar gains as data backs expected rate hike
* Crude oil eases as focus returns to oversupply
* Retail earnings lift Wall St; European shares rise
* Copper struggles at 6-year lows on China demand woes

(Adds U.S. market openings; changes dateline from LONDON)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Shares in major markets rallied
on Tuesday, fueled by strong corporate reports in the United
States and Europe, while the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields
rose as firming inflation backed expectations of an impending
interest rate hike.
Better-than-expected results from retailers Home Depot (N:HD)
HD.N and Wal-Mart Stores (N:WMT) WMT.N pushed the S&P 500 index
higher, shoring up some confidence in the sector after weak
economic data and earnings last week sparked concerns about
slowing retail spending. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N13C4JL
"People understand that the U.S. consumer is okay, but not
great," said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG. "What we're
seeing with the consumer is that there's a limited wallet. If
you see increased spending one place, you see decreased spending
in another place."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 86.06 points,
or 0.49 percent, to 17,569.07, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 9.85
points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,063.04 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 30.61 points, or 0.61 percent, to 5,015.22.
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 increased 2.3
percent, as Germany's United Internet UTDI.DE and Dutch-based
Randstad RAND.AS , the world's second-biggest staffing company,
posted encouraging results. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N13C3TQ
MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS rose 1
percent.
"Investors are showing resilience to the recent attacks in
Paris despite mounting worries over security in Europe," said B
Capital Wealth Management Managing Director Lorne Baring, in
London.
Greek stocks surged and bond yields hit their lowest in more
than a year after the country's finance minister said Athens had
reached an agreement with its lenders on financial reforms.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N13C2C9
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer prices increased in
October after two straight months of declines, a sign of firming
inflation that supported expectations the Federal Reserve will
raise interest rates next month. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N13C0UU
Benchmark 10-year Treasuries US10YT=RR were down 9/32 in
price with a yield of 2.3045 percent, up 3 basis points from
late on Monday.
The dollar index .DXY , which measures the dollar against a
basket of six major currencies, rose 0.19 percent. The euro
EUR= lost 0.4 percent against the dollar. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N13C15A
"I think the market has the mindset that there is almost
nothing at this stage of the game that is going to dissuade the
Fed from going in December," said Lane Newman, director of
foreign exchange at ING Capital Markets in New York.
Oil prices slumped as the global oversupply in crude and
petroleum products returned to focus. Brent LCOc1 dropped 1.5
percent to $43.91 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 fell 1.7
percent at $41.02 a barrel. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N13C0FX
"Unless the geopolitical tensions, which have obviously
risen since Friday, are going to be manifested in physical
supply destruction in the Middle East, I think sentiment should
remain more bearish than bullish," PVM Oil Associates analyst
Tamas Varga said.
Gold XAU= fell 0.7 percent, heading back near six-year
lows.
Copper prices touched their lowest point in more than six
years as fears about demand growth in China and a higher dollar
fuelled negative sentiment. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N13C33H