GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slip, safety sought on US growth worries

                                
 * Stocks fall as U.S. economic data continue to disappoint
                                
 * Major Asian markets fall by up to 1.2 pct
                                
 * Yen hovers near 15-year peaks, intervention talk swirls
                                
 * U.S. 2-year yields near record lows
                                
 SYDNEY, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on Friday and
the yen threatened to hit 15-year highs in the wake of
disappointing U.S. data that heightened worries about
slackening growth in the world's largest economy.
                                
 Investors looking for reasons to be cautious found backing
in data that showed U.S. jobless claims at a nine-month high
and the first contraction in a year in a volatile U.S. regional
manufacturing index. [ID:nN19350083]
                                
 That revived fears that the United States may be sliding
back into recession, or a "double dip", and tipped investors'
favour once more towards less risky havens such as gold, yen,
and U.S. and Japanese government bonds.
                                
 "On the face of it, these are two very good reasons to be
cautious on the recovery and no doubt double dippers will be
dancing," said Adam Carr, an analyst at ICAP in Sydney, though
he argued that the market gloom was overdone.
                                
 Stock investors put safety first, however.
                                
 Japan's Nikkei <.N225> fell 1.2 percent as the yen gained
on the dollar after the poor U.S. data, though expectations
that the government or central bank may soon ease monetary
policy further kept the slide in stocks in check. [.T]
 The MSCI stock index outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> shed 0.9
percent, with Australian and New Zealand stocks leading the way
down.
                                
 For the week, however, the index was on track for a modest
rise of 0.3 percent, but far from recouping last week's 2.9
percent drop as concerns about faltering global growth
intensified.
                                
 In Sydney, the benchmark stock index <.AXJO> lost 1
percent, dragged down by declines in heavyweight miners BHP
Billiton <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> amid talk that their
planned $116-billion iron-ore joint venture was failing.
[ID:nSGE67J006]
                                
 BHP was further weighed by its head-turning $39 billion
hostile bid for Canada's fertiliser producer Potash Corp
<POT.TO>, which could be the world's biggest corporate takeover
this year. BHP shares fell 1.4 percent as investors feared it
would have to raise its bid, while Rio slid 2.6 percent.
                                
 With stocks under pressure, U.S. and Japanese government
bonds benefitted.
                                
 U.S. two-year yields <0#USBMK=> were down near a record low
of 0.476 percent, and 10-year yields stayed near a 17-month
trough of 2.557 percent.
                                
 Japanese government bonds jumped, in part on talk the Bank
of Japan (BoJ) may further loosen policy to weaken the strong
yen, which is threatening export growth, the lone bright spot
in the country's economy. [JP/]
                                
 Fears of BoJ intervention kept the yen from testing a
15-year low of 84.72 hit last week, though it fell as far as
84.89 yen <JPY=> in offshore trade.
                                
 "Everyone thinks the dollar will extend losses against the
yen. But fears of intervention and caution about additional
monetary easing steps in Japan are making players hesitate to
aggressively sell the dollar for now," said Tsutomu Soma,
senior manager in the foreign securities arm at Okasan
Securities.
                                
 The overall cautious tone supported gold at 1-1/2-month
highs [GOL/] and kept oil under pressure near six-week lows.
[O/R]
 (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Kim Coghill)