Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The MSCI World stock index rose for a seventh day, the longest streak since July, as China’s strengthening economy buoyed shares in Asia and Europe. The dollar fell as investors sought higher-yielding currencies. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets added 0.2 percent at 9:27 a.m. in London. The Shanghai Composite Index posted the biggest gain among equity gauges, advancing 2.2 percent. The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the currency against the U.S.’s biggest trading partners, extended its six-day drop to 1.9 percent. China’s industrial production rose 12.3 percent in August, more than economists predicted, while lending unexpectedly climbed and retail sales advanced, indicating growth in the world’s fastest-growing major economy is likely to accelerate. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday the government may withdraw some of its support for financial markets as it moves from “crisis response to recovery.” “The China data show the recovery is still going at a fairly steady pace and not showing signs of sputtering out,” said Brian Jackson, emerging-markets strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Hong Kong. China “is going to provide support for the world economy,” he said. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European shares added 0.4 percent, led by raw-material producers. A 53 percent surge since March 9 has driven valuations on the gauge to 46.6 times profit, the highest level since 2003, weekly Bloomberg data show. BHP, Rio The increase in Chinese industrial production helped send BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, up 2.5 percent. Rio Tinto Group, the third-largest, added 2.1 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.4 percent and was headed for the highest closing level in more than a year. China’s Premier Wen Jiabao helped fuel the advance with a speech yesterday that signaled he will maintain unprecedented government spending. “China’s economic rebound is unstable, unbalanced and not yet solid,” Wen said at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, northeastern China. “We cannot and will not change the direction of our policies when the conditions aren’t appropriate.” The U.S. government is preparing to shift from “rescuing the economy to repairing and rebuilding the foundation for future growth,” Geithner said. The recovery will have “more than the usual ups and downs,” he said. Dollar Index The Dollar Index, which tracks the currency versus the yen, euro, pound, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona, dropped 0.2 percent to 76.700. The yen gained against all 16 most-traded currencies, strengthening 0.7 percent versus the dollar, on speculation Japanese exporters are bringing home foreign earnings to take advantage of a tax break that took effect this fiscal year. Europe led gains in government bonds, with yields on French and Italian 10-year notes falling as much as four basis points, as demand at debt sales around the world boosted confidence countries will be able to fund spending measures. The U.S. sold $12 billion of 30-year bonds yesterday, drawing the highest demand for the securities since November 2007. Yields on the 30- and 10-year year bonds were little changed at 4.20 percent and 3.35 percent, respectively. Lead for delivery in three months fell 2.5 percent to $2,063 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, extending yesterday’s 12 percent plunge. The metal slumped on concern that supply may outpace demand this year in China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of the metal. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Hauck in London at dhauck1@bloomberg.net.

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