REFILE-GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks falter, oil gains after mixed data

                                
 (Removes extraneous word in paragraph 23 about oil)
                                
 * Stocks flat on mixed U.S. economic data
                                
 * Euro stung by Ireland bank woes, weak economic data
                                
 * Oil rises above $75 a barrel, bond prices rally
                                
 * Gold holds near record high on currency fears
 (Adds close of European markets)
                                
 By Herbert Lash
                                
 NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - World stocks were flat but
oil prices rebounded on Thursday after mixed U.S. and European
data that suggested economies are recovering, albeit slowly.
                                
 Gold held near record highs, eyeing a breach of $1,300 an
ounce, while U.S. and German government securities prices rose
on growing speculation the Federal Reserve would buy debt to
aid the U.S. economy after a rise in new jobless claims.
                                
 But the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index held an
important support level after weak data from the United States
and Europe, a sign the recent equity gains could hold. For
details see: [ID:nN23267205]
                                
 The S&P 500 traded around break-even but stayed above the
key 1,130 resistance level.
                                
 MSCI's all-country world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell
0.1 percent, with major European indexes ending the session
down, but closer yet to unchanged.
                                
 "It's a hodgepodge of data," said Ryan Detrick, senior
technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research in
Cincinnati. "The bottom line is we're holding that break-out at
the 1,130 level."
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 0.72 point,
or 0.01 percent, at 10,740.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> was down 0.51 point, or 0.04 percent, at 1,133.77. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 14.48 points, or 0.62
percent, at 2,349.03.
                                
 Among U.S. economic data. sales of previously owned homes
increased 7.6 percent to an annual rate of 4.13 million units
in August, a touch above expectations. But the pace was the
second lowest in 13 years.
                                
 Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New
York, said the data needed to be put in perspective after a 27
percent drop in July.
                                
 "The data confirms what we already know, which is the
expiration of the first-time homebuyer's tax credit has hurt
both new and existing sales," Low said.
                                
 Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 12,000
to a worse-than-expected seasonally adjusted 465,000, the Labor
Department said, breaking two straight weeks of declines.
                                
  In Europe, growth rates in the euro zone's services and
manufacturing sectors slowed more than forecast in September as
firms hired fewer new workers, surveys showed, offering fresh
signs the region's economy recovery is losing momentum.
[ID:nLDE68M0GG]
                                
 "It's going nowhere very slowly ... we're going sideways,"
said Howard Wheeldon, strategist at BGC Capital Partners.
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FEU3> index of leading European
shares closed down 0.1 percent at 1,065.92 points. The FTSE 100
Index <.FTSE>  in London also slid 0.1 percent.
                                
 The euro fell from a five-month high versus the dollar,
weighed by worries over Ireland's economy and banking sector,
which underlined concern over the euro zone periphery.
[ID:nN23157168]
                                
 A 1.2 percent decline in second quarter Irish GDP from the
first quarter confounded forecasts for a 0.5 percent rise and
highlighted the struggles facing Ireland.
                                
 The euro <EUR=> was down 0.46 percent at $1.3338.
                                
 The dollar was up against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.16 percent at 79.959.
                                
 Against the Japanese yen, the dollar <JPY=> was down 0.18
percent at 84.37.
                                
 German Bund futures hit a two-week high after Germany
slashed its planned debt issuance for the fourth quarter and
the weak data bolstered safe-haven demand. December Bund
futures <FGBLc1> settled 64 ticks higher at 131.39.
                                
 U.S. government debt also rallied.
                                
 The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> rose
5/32 in price to yield 2.54 percent.
                                
 U.S. crude oil futures turned positive, led by gasoline
futures. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November crude
<CLX0> rose 36 cents, or 0.48 percent, to $75.07 a barrel.
                                
 Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $2.50 to $1,293.30 an ounce.
                                
 Major markets in Asia were closed due to holidays in Japan,
China, Hong Kong and South Korea.
 (Reporting by Edward Krudy, Vivianne Rodrigues and Ellen
Freilich in New York and Ian Chua, Marie-Louise Gumuchian and
Jan Harvey in London; Writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by
Kenneth Barry)