* European stocks steady, U.S. futures down 0.3%
* France Q1 GDP above expectations, Germany below
* China, Japan stocks dip ahead of long holiday
* Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
By Carolyn Cohn and Hideyuki Sano
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - World stocks held near a record high and the euro was on course for its best month in nine as strong U.S. data and corporate earnings plus the Federal Reserve's commitment to support the economy fuelled investors' appetite for risk.
MSCI's broadest gauge of world stocks covering 50 markets .MIWD00000PUS dipped 0.1% but remained close to a record peak touched the previous day, up 5% on the month.
In Europe, euro Stoxx futures .STOXX were steady and Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE traded up 0.2%.
U.S. stock futures ESc1 were down 0.3% after the S&P 500 .SPX closed at an all-time high.
"The Federal Reserve continues to support, Biden has this huge stimulus programme as well and the earnings season continues -- so far we have seen relatively benign as well as strong earnings," said Eddie Cheng, head of international multi-asset portfolio management at Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Asset Management.
Data on Thursday showed U.S. economic growth accelerated in the first quarter, fuelled by massive government aid to households and businesses. came against the backdrop of the Federal Reserve's reassurance on Wednesday that it was not time yet to begin discussing any change in its easy monetary policy. just over a half of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings, about 87% beat market expectations, according to Refinitiv, the highest level in recent years.
For both the MSCI world index and the S&P500, analysts are expecting earnings in the next 12 months to recover to above pre-pandemic levels.
Preliminary euro zone GDP data at 0900 GMT, meanwhile, is expected to show a drop of 2% in the first quarter, according to a Reuters poll, which would mean a fall into a technical recession, say Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) analysts.
"However, there is increasingly bright light at the end of the tunnel," they added.
"The speed of the vaccinations is picking up and the EU recovery fund is also finally getting off the ground."
France, the euro zone's second-biggest economy, saw stronger than expected growth in the first quarter, though Q1 GDP in largest economy Germany fell more than expected on a seasonally adjusted basis. 10-year Bund yield, which moves inversely to price, slipped 0.009% to -0.202% DE10YT=RR .
New coronavirus infections in India surged to a fresh record and France's health minister said the dangers of the Indian variant must not be underestimated. assets have had quite a few wobbles within the month," said Cheng.
"We need to get used to the fact that this is not going to be a straight line."
The euro extended its bull run to a two-month high of $1.2150 in the previous session and it last stood at $1.2100 EUR= , down 0.15%. With 3.2% gains so far this month, the single currency is on course for its biggest monthly rise in nine months.
The dollar was steady against the yen at 108.86 JPY= . It gained 0.13% against a basket of currencies =USD , after hitting a two-month low on Thursday.
The Canadian dollar hit a three-year high of C$1.22680 per U.S. unit CAD=D4 , boosted by the Bank of Canada's tapering of its bond-buying programme and higher commodities including oil and lumber.
In Asia, MSCI's ex-Japan index lost 0.9% .MIAPJ0000PUS , following a softer-than-expected survey of China's manufacturing.
Chinese tech giant shares listed in Hong Kong also buckled as Beijing summoned 13 internet platforms to order them to strengthen compliance with regulations, weighing on the Hang Seng .HSI index. Chinese shares .CSI300 lost 0.8% while Japan's Nikkei .N225 also shed 0.8% on position adjustments ahead of a long weekend. Both markets will be closed through Wednesday. prices took a breather after hitting six-week highs on strong U.S. economic data, on concerns about wider lockdowns in India and Brazil.
Brent LCOc1 slipped 0.54% to $68.19 per barrel, after having hit a high of $68.95 on Thursday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 0.78% to $64.50 per barrel CLc1 .
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates YTD
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Global asset performance
http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa, Raju Gopalakrishnan, William Maclean)