Global stocks edged higher yesterday after US services sector data supported a slow but steady recovery, and lifted the dollar against the Japanese yen.

Trading across most asset classes remained thin, however, as traders refrained from sharp moves before a Friday report on the US labour market that is a keystone to the recovery story that since March has driven world stocks up to 15-month highs.

The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 50.1 from 48.7 in November. The reading by the private US industry group was below economists' expectations of 50.5, but indicated expansion.

"The trend is our friend," said Torsten Slok, a senior economist at Deutsche Bank in New York. "The sign that the service sector is improving is a sign that the things are moving in the right direction."

Global shares held gains even after the ADP Employer Services report showed a smaller-than-expected slowdown in job losses in December. The ADP data is a precursor to the closely watched government non-farm payrolls report, where economists expect a loss of 8,000 jobs for the month.

World stocks as measured by MSCI inched up 0.06 per cent to 1,193.64, their highest level since the darkest days of the financial crisis in September 2008. Earlier in the session, this index hit a fresh 52-week high at 1,195.26, Reuters data showed.

Earlier in the session, two of the three major US stock indexes hit fresh 52-week highs. The S&P 500 climbed as high as 1,138.17, while the Nasdaq rose as high as 2,314.07.

But by midday, Wall Street was trading flat to slightly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.76 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 10,567.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched down just 0.23 of a point, or 0.02 per cent, to 1,136.29 and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 6.44 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 2,302.27.