By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar slipped and global equity markets were mostly flat on Friday after a solid but below-expectations U.S. jobs report for October took the edge off a months-long rally in both the greenback and stocks.
U.S. job growth increased at a brisk clip in October and unemployment fell to a six-year low of 5.8 percent, underscoring the American economy's resilience in the face of slowing global demand.
Yields on U.S. Treasuries came off one-month peaks posted shortly before the release of a Labor Department report that showed employers added 214,000 jobs last month, below the 231,000 increase forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
Wall Street was mixed in a narrow range, and MSCI's all-country world index, a gauge of stock performance in 45 countries, was flat at 418.20.
"It's hard to not bet on the economy, with the fundamentals looking like a full house: earnings are rock solid, we're growing at a nice pace and confidence is up," said David Kelly, chief global strategist for JPMorgan Funds in New York.
"The number was slightly weaker than expected, but until we see real weakness or higher interest rates, we'll continue to be overweight on equities."
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 1.45 points, or 0.01 percent, to 17,553.02. The S&P 500 rose 1.07 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,032.28 while the Nasdaq Composite lost 12.14 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,626.33.
In Europe, shares lost ground as pessimism over economic growth and loan demand in the region hit bank stocks, while the U.S. jobs data did little to buoy investor sentiment.
European equities had staged a short-lived rally on Thursday after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi reiterated plans to revive the struggling euro zone by pumping more money into the economy.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.51 percent to close at a provisional 1,344.57.
The euro slipped briefly to a 26-month low at $1.2357 before rebounding for a 0.35 percent gain on the day at $1.2416.
The dollar fell 0.28 percent to 114.88 yen, pulling back from Thursday's seven-year peak of 115.49 yen, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of currencies, reached a high of 88.19, its best since June 2010, before slipping back to 87.757, a loss of 0.29 percent on the day.
Brent crude oil steadied above $83 a barrel, consolidating after several months of sharp falls, as the U.S. jobs data pointed to stronger economic growth and the dollar remained near four-year highs.
Brent was up 75 cents at $83.61 a barrel. U.S. crude was up $1.12 at $79.03 a barrel.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 20/32 in price to yield 2.3157, after hitting a one-month high of 2.407 percent before the jobs data.
(Reporting by Herbert Lash; Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)
