* U.S. jobs data, IMF/World Bank meetings in focus
* Stocks fall, dollar gains in tentative markets
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Investors pulled back from riskier
assets on Friday, selling stocks and buying the dollar, as they
approached a key test of U.S. economic recovery and a
potentially volatile weekend of global currency talks.
Wall Street also looked set to open flat to lower pending
the release of jobs data.
U.S. monthly non-farm payrolls data for September was at
1230 GMT, providing a snapshot of how the stumbling U.S. economy
is impacting jobs -- and with them consumer confidence and
likely spending patterns.
A weak number could also push the U.S. Federal Reserve
towards further quantitative easing, essentially printing money
to prime the economic pump.
Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund and World Bank
meetings in Washington this weekend are expected to be dominated
by the potential for a "currency war" over differing exchange
policies, including the potential for QE to weaken the dollar.
Japan said it will continue to intervene to curb a strong
yen if necessary. China has rebuffed calls from the West to let
its currency rise faster but allowed it to firm on Friday to its
highest against the dollar since a revaluation in July 2005.
The result of both pending events was to put financial
markets on the defensive.
MSCI's all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> was down 0.4
percent and its emerging market counterpart <.MSCIEF> lost
nearly two-thirds of a percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEUS> was down half a percent and
Japan's Nikkei <> earlier closed down 1 percent.
"There is some nervousness. We have seen in the course of
the last couple of days that the market is reacting
substantially to any indication about the labour statistics,"
said Luc Van Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities.
U.S. payrolls are forecast to be unchanged in September,
with the unemployment rate seen edging up to 9.7 percent from
9.6 percent in August. []
Some were expecting a worse figure.
"We think the risk is to the downside for the data if you
look at recent data," said Glenn Marci, strategist at DZ Bank in
Frankfurt.
MONEY TROUBLE
The dollar firmed slightly, up 0.1 percent, against a basket
of major currencies <.DXY> and the euro dropped 0.2 percent to
$1.3903 <EUR>.
Currency markets have been roiled recently by the United
States' apparent willingness to let the dollar weaken sharply,
China's insistence on keeping its yuan competitive and other
countries, such as Japan and Brazil, attempting to slow money
flows that have strengthened their currencies.
Expectations for any meaningful agreement in Washington are
low and Japan, for one, showed no sign of backing down from its
attempts to cool the yen.
"Japan will take firm measures, including intervention, when
needed," Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters
when asked about the yen's rise to another 15-year high on
Thursday. "This is Japan's basic stance."
Concerns that a stronger euro <EUR=> may weigh on the pace
of Europe's economic recovery, meanwhile, were fuelled by German
exports falling in August for the second consecutive month and
narrowing the trade balance. []
German government bond prices firmed.
Bunds fell on Thursday after European Central Bank President
Jean-Claude Trichet signalled no change to the bank's exit
strategy from providing unlimited liquidity.
(Editing by Toby Chopra)
