GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares, dlr higher after U.S. jobs data

* U.S. payrolls decline less than expected in February

* Successful bond sale ease immediate Greek debt concerns

* Crude extends gains after jobs data, China stimulus remarks

By Emelia Sithole-Matarise

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Better-than-forecast U.S. non-farm payrolls lifted world equities and the dollar on Friday, setting Wall Street up for further gains.

The U.S. Labor Department said U.S. employers cut 36,000 jobs in February, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 9.7 percent. Economists had expected a loss of 50,000 jobs and the rate to edge up to 9.8 percent.

Analysts had said a fall in the payrolls numbers was likely in February as severe weather that affected large swaths of the country kept some workers at home.

"I think it's a reasonably encouraging report. I think it's likely we would have had an increase had the weather been normal, though it's difficult to tell the precise impact of the weather," said David Sloan, 4Cast chief economist North America.

"Even if the weather impact was zero, job losses were minimal. The unemployment rate was unchanged, that was quite encouraging as well. Earnings are subdued; that should keep inflationary pressures low."

The dollar was up 0.4 percent against a basket of major currencies <.DXY> after the jobs report while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> extended gains to around 1 percent, on course for a sixth straight day of gains.

TheMSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> was up 0.3 percent while U.S. crude oil futures rose $1, hitting nearly an eight-week high.

The dollar regained some ground versus the euro with the single currency last 0.2 percent lower at $1.3554 <EUR=>. The euro had steadied after dropping to $1.3549 on Thursday as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the recovery in the euro zone would be uneven.

Major investment houses have started to push back expectations for a first rise ECB rates after the central bank extended unlimited lending to banks for longer than expected. [ID:nLDE62412Y]

GREEK WORRIES

Investors were also willing to take on riskier bets on more encouraging signs that Greece will be able to finance its debts after it successfully raised 5 billion euros on Thursday via a 10-year bond syndication.

Greek government bonds outperformed euro zone benchmark German Bunds, with the premium investors demand to buy 10-year Greek debt rather than Bunds falling to 288 basis points from 299 bps in late European trade on Thursday.

But some investors still fretted about the longer-term outlook for the highly-indebted euro zone member, keeping the single currency on the defensive despite Greece's successful bond issue.

"Greece must borrow more than 50 billion euros to cover maturing debt and interest payments this year and, given the debt placement schedule of other European countries, it is still far from assured that Greece's upcoming bond sales will be oversubscribed as yesterday's," Barclays Wealth said in a note.

German officials and the chairman of the group of countries using the euro ruled out any immediate provision of financial aid for Greece before talks on Friday with Prime Minister George Papandreou. [ID:nLDE6240M8]

(Additional reporting by Dominic Lau; editing by Patrick Graham, John Stonestreet)