PIMCO's Gross sees 2013 stock, bond returns of less than 5 percent

(Reuters) - PIMCO's Bill Gross says he expects stocks and bonds to return less than 5 percent in 2013, with the U.S. unemployment rate remaining at 7.5 percent or higher.

"1) Stocks & bonds return less than 5%. 2) Unemployment stays at 7.5% or higher 3) Gold goes up" Gross, the co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO) and manager of the world's largest bond fund, wrote in a twitter post on Sunday. (link.reuters.com/cyx84t)

As of Friday the total return on the Standard & Poor's 500 index, including dividends, was 12.33 percent for the year, while spot gold was up 5.8 percent at $1,654.90 per ounce. The U.S. unemployment rate stood at 7.7 percent in November.

In an investment letter published on December 4, Gross said "there may be no miracle policy drugs" for structural impediments to a recovery in the U.S. and global economies and the diminished economic growth outlook would mean reduced returns from stocks and bonds.

In recent outlooks, Gross has said that the Fed's bond-buying programs have failed to revive the U.S. economy and that looming inflation could weaken returns on both stocks and bonds.

PIMCO had $1.92 trillion in assets as of September 30. The firm's flagship PIMCO Total Return Fund has over $281 billion in assets.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Ted Kerr)