* Global stocks, euro fall; US Treasuries rally
* US new home sales fall to record low
* Concerns over Europe's banks spur sales of risky assets
(Updates with U.S. markets' activity and Soros' comments)
By Walter Brandimarte and Emelia Sithole-Matarise
NEW YORK/LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Global stocks and the
euro fell on Wednesday after record low sales of new U.S.
homes added to worries about the global recovery and investors
were cautious before the Federal Reserve's policy statement.
The disappointing U.S. housing data caused U.S. Treasuries
prices to rally, while sending the cost of protecting Greek
government bonds from default to a near record high.
Oil prices also slid more than $2 per barrel following
reports that showed inventories on the rise.
Sales of new U.S. single-family homes dropped a record
32.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000
units, the lowest level since record keeping started in 1963.
The drop unwound two months of gains, which had been inspired
by a government tax credit for home buyers.
"The numbers are really bad and basically risk is off now,
with euro falling as well as commodity currencies, such as the
Canadian dollar," said Amelia Bourdeau, currency strategist
with UBS in Stamford, Connecticut.
Investors worry the weak data could force the Federal Open
Market Committee to offer a less upbeat outlook on the economy
after a two-day meeting that ends on Wednesday. []
The Dow Jones industrial average <> fell 32.12 points,
or 0.31 percent, to 10,261.40, while the Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> lost 6.77 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,088.54.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 13.65 points, or
0.60 percent, at 2,248.15.
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index <> of top
shares fell 1 percent. Financial stocks ranked among the top
decliners, with Barclays <BARC.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>,
Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> and Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> down
1.4 percent to 3.3 percent.
Concerns about Europe's banking system were on the rise
after Credit Agricole pushed back profit targets for its
struggling Greek unit Emporiki <CBGr.AT> and said it would
take a 400-million-euro ($536.7 million) write-down as Greece
fights to manage its debt load. []
MSCI's all-country stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> tumbled 1
percent, while an index of emerging market stocks <.MSCIEF>
fell 1.18 percent.
During Asian trading hours, Japan's Nikkei average <>
lost 1.9 percent to end at 9,923.70, a one-week closing low,
as it approached a major support level of 9,800, and investors
sold some shares on renewed concerns about the euro zone.
EURO, OIL AND GOLD DECLINE
The euro <EUR=> slipped 0.28 percent at $1.2232 after the
U.S. housing data. The single European currency was also
struggling on concerns about the euro zone's banking system.
Billionaire investor George Soros said "the euro is a
patently flawed construct," and noted that Germany's budget
savings policy is making it harder for other countries in the
currency bloc to regain competitiveness. He made the comments
in the test of a speech for delivery at Berlin's Humboldt
University.
In 1992, Soros earned $1 billion by betting against the
British pound.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR>
jumped 13/32 in price, to yield 3.1210 percent, after the
data.
Investor attention will shift in the afternoon to the U.S.
Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. The Fed is
widely expected to hold rates near zero and reiterate its
commitment to keeping interest rates "exceptionally low" for
an "extended period."
U.S. crude oil futures prices <CLc1> fell $1.99, or 2.56
percent, to $75.86 per barrel.
Gold prices dropped in response to the dollar's strength
and stocks' decline after the weak U.S. home sales data. U.S.
gold futures for August delivery <GCQO> lost $8.80 to
$1,232.00 an ounce.
(Reporting by Walter Brandimarte in New York and Emelia
Sithole-Matarise in London; Additional reporting by Leah
Schnurr, Ellen Freilich and Nick Olivari in New York, David
Sheppard and Jan Harvey in London; Editing by Jan Paschal)
