GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro at 5-month high, stocks slip at quarter end

                                

                                
 * Global stocks slip amid improving yet still weak data
                                
 * Euro hits 5-month high vs dollar, buoyed by ECB tender
                                
 * Oil at 7-week high, gold sets new peak but falls for day
                                
 * Bonds slip as U.S. data reduces bets on Fed action
 (Adds close of U.S.markets)
                                
 By Herbert Lash
                                
 NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Global stocks slipped and the
euro hit another five-month high on Thursday as improving data
curbed expectations the Federal Reserve would increase money
supply to spur economic growth and lift asset prices.
                                
 The euro was on track for its best quarterly gain in eight
years as data showed euro zone banks had relied far less on
European Central Bank funding than analysts expected. For
details see: [ID:nN30211700]
                                
 The euro <EUR=> was up 0.12 percent at $1.3644, but the
rally seemed to be running out of steam, analysts said.
                                
 U.S. stocks ended lower for a second day as investors took
profits from an exceptionally strong September that left the
benchmark S&P 500 up 8.8 percent for the month.
                                
 The session was volatile, with investors torn between
end-of-quarter positioning and stronger-than-expected economic
data.
                                
 New U.S. claims for jobless benefits fell last week, a sign
of an improving labor market, while Midwest business activity
grew more than expected in September. Also, U.S. second-quarter
growth was revised a touch higher on firmer consumer spending.
                                
 U.S. stocks temporarily rose, but the S&P 500 has been
unable to close  above 1,150.
                                
 "If (future) data and earnings confirm that we are finally
out of fears of a double-dip (recession), October may be the
month for the S&P to break above trading range and reach the
highs that we saw in April," said John Canally, an economist
and investment strategist at LPL Financial in Boston.
                                
 A poll by Reuters showed leading investors around the world
increased equity holdings to their highest level in three
months in September and reduced bonds and cash holdings as
confidence about the global economy grew. [ID:nLDE68T17W]
                                
 It was the best month for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq since
April 2009, and for the Dow since July 2009.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed down 47.23
points, or 0.44 percent, at 10,788.05. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> fell 3.53 points, or 0.31 percent, at
1,141.20. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shed 7.94 points,
or 0.33 percent, at 2,368.62.
                                
 The December futures contract that trades in Chicago for
the Nikkei 225 <0#NK:> was flat at 9,450.
                                
 Oil rose to a seven-week high of nearly $80 a barrel on the
U.S. data, while gold eased but not before hitting yet another
record high as investors sought an alternative to a weak dollar
and future protection against potential inflation risks.
[ID:nSGE68T04L] [ID:nLDE68T0RK]
                                
 U.S. oil futures <CLc1>  settled up $2.11 at $79.97 a
barrel. Oil posted an 11.2 percent gain in September, the
largest monthly jump since May 2009.
                                
 European benchmark Brent crude futures <LCOc1> rose $1.59
to $82.36 a barrel in late trade.
                                
 Gold hit its 11th record high in 13 trading sessions and
posted a 5 percent gain for the month. Spot gold <XAU=> scaled
a record of $1,315.80 an ounce and then eased to $1,306.75
                                
 U.S. Treasuries ended modestly lower in choppy trading. The
day's decline ended a mediocre third quarter for U.S.
government debt.
                                
 Benchmark 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> were down 3/32 in price
to yield 2.51 percent.
                                
 The dollar index fell to an eight-month low, under pressure
from investors shunning the U.S. currency, but later gained
strength.
                                
 The dollar was higher against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> almost break-even at 78.713.
                                
 Against the Japanese yen, the dollar <JPY=> was down 0.24
percent at 83.48.
                                
 The Australian dollar climbed to a two-year high against
the U.S. dollar <AUD=> as investors bet that the Reserve Bank
of Australia will raise the benchmark interest rate next week.
[ID:nN30285299]
                                
 Asian stocks outside Japan fell 0.3 percent but were set
for their best quarter in a year as investors poured money into
regional markets on robust Chinese-driven growth.
                                
 The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> has gained more than 17 percent this quarter.
                                
 Japan's Nikkei <.N225> ended 2 percent lower but still
posted its best monthly performance in six. On a quarterly
basis the Nikkei is flat, sharply lagging other major markets.
 (Reporting by Angela Moon, Vivianne Rodrigues, Joshua
Schneyer, Richard Leong and Frank Tang in New York; Writing by
Herbert Lash; Editing by Kenneth Barry)