GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks gain on robust U.S. data, Brexit worry wanes

* Strong private payrolls growth in June -U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . ADP report

* U.S. stocks open higher, but pare gains

* European stocks gain as Brexit fears wane

* Treasury yields rise from historic lows (Updates to U.S. trading, changes dateline, previous London)

By Dion Rabouin

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - World stocks climbed as riskier assets like equities received a bump from a second day of positive U.S. data and worries eased over the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, lifting the pound off three-decade lows.

Wall Street initially opened higher as strong private sector employment data and a drop in jobless claims pointed to a steadying labor market ahead of the key monthly payrolls report on Friday, but pared those gains as investors grew cautious.

The ADP national employment report showed that 172,000 jobs were added in the private sector in June, outstripping economists' expectation of 159,000.

On Wednesday, a report from the Institute of Supply Management showed U.S. services activity hit a seven-month high in June.

"Investors are marking their time ahead of the jobs data," said Terry Sandven, chief equities strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "The wall of worry has been under full construction since the May jobs data, so tomorrow's report will either suggest that the number was an anomaly or provide evidence of a weakening economy."

ADP's May report showed private payrolls rose 168,000, but the government's non-farm payrolls data reported a gain of only 38,000 jobs, the lowest since September 2010.

Equity markets around the world advanced, and MSCI (NYSE: MSCI - news) 's global gauge of stocks was up 0.25 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 7.02 points, or 0.04 percent, to 17,911.6, the S&P 500 gained 0.74 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,100.47 and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.70 points, or 0.28 percent, to 4,872.86.

The strong U.S. private payrolls data also boosted U.S. Treasury yields, with benchmark and long-dated yields edging up from record lows hit Wednesday.

U.S. 30-year Treasuries were last down 3/32 in price to yield 2.159 percent after hitting a record low of 2.098 percent on Wednesday. Benchmark 10-year Treasuries were last down 5/32 in price to yield 1.413 percent after touching a record low of 1.321 percent Wednesday.

European markets gained, ending a three-day slide with London's FTSE up 1.09 percent. The CAC in Paris rose 0.8 percent and Germany's DAX was 0.49 percent higher. The pan-European FTSE 300 gained 1.04 percent.

The British pound, which had fallen below $1.30 against the U.S. dollar for the first time since 1985 on Wednesday, rose above that mark in early trading. It was last up slightly at $1.2936.

Sterling is down more than 14 percent since Britain voted to exit the European Union on June 23, with some analysts expecting it to drop to $1.20 in coming months as the Bank of England prepares to ease monetary policy.

The dollar was 0.55 percent lower against the yen at 100.75 yen, holding above its trough of 99 yen hit on June 24, the day after the British vote.

Traders said even positive data from Friday's jobs report was unlikely to sway the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates this year given global growth concerns, furthering boosting the yen.

The strong yen and Brexit fears have battered Japanese markets, with Japan's Nikkei stock index falling 0.67 percent Thursday to drop for a third straight day.

Oil prices fell, reversing earlier gains, after the Energy Information Administration showed a smaller-than-expected drop in weekly U.S. crude stockpiles.

Brent crude fell $1.04 to $48.38 a barrel. U.S. crude dropped 98 cents to $47.01 a barrel.

(Reporting by Dion Rabouin)