* Global stocks slide as data renews recovery doubts
* U.S. dollar gains as U.S. durables weigh on risk trades
* Oil prices slip to near $71 on rising U.S. stockpiles
* U.S. government debt falls on mixed durables data
(Updates with U.S. markets activity, changes dateline;
previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - World stocks slid on Wednesday
after a mixed report on U.S. durable goods orders reignited
doubts about economic recovery while oil prices fell on news of
rising U.S. crude stockpiles.
The U.S. dollar gained, retracing the week's losses, as the
durables goods report for July eroded risk appetite and
prompted investors to seek shelter in the safe-haven greenback.
For details: []
Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods registered the
biggest advance since July 2007, but excluding transportation
goods, orders for durables were slightly below expectations.
Slippage among global stocks that climbed to 10-month highs
this week boosted money flows into less risky assets, such as
European government bonds, which also gained from some modest
month-end buying, traders said. []
Economic data in Europe showed further signs of recovery,
as did a report showing U.S. new home sales jumped in July to
their fastest pace in 10 months.
But a key measure of U.S. business demand -- nondefense
capital goods, excluding aircraft -- fell, reminding investors
that the U.S. economy still faces huge challenges as it tries
to emerge from deep recession. See []
Investors in equity markets took profits on a recent run-up
in prices, and key commodity prices, such as copper, fell as
the U.S. data cast doubt over the speed of economic recovery.
[]
For example, the MSCI all-country world index
<.MIWD00000PUS> rose for six straight session through Tuesday,
gaining 5.3 percent over the stretch. The index was down 0.5
percent on Wednesday, but still up about 4 percent in August.
"The market has come a long way, and the economics are
still supportive," said Georgina Taylor, an equity strategist
at Legal & General Investment Management.
"We're just seeing a little profit taking. Nothing has been
derailed. Housing data is improving. The only area of concern
is consumer spending."
In Britain, retreating mining and oil stocks outweighed
modest gains from defensive pharmaceuticals, while energy
shares were the biggest drag on a leading European index.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares fell 0.5 percent to close at 973.92. The index is still
up more than 50 percent from its lifetime low of March 9.
U.S. stocks seesawed after market sell-offs on Monday and
Tuesday led investors to turn skittish.
"Given how extended we are, and relatively overbought,
sentiment is going to drive the market's direction much more
than any economic news, at least in the short term," said
Michael James, senior trader at Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average
<> was down 4.24 points, or 0.04 percent, at 9,535.05. The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 1.74 points, or
0.17 percent, at 1,026.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index <>
was down 6.60 points, or 0.33 percent, at 2,017.63.
Oil pared early gains to drop to almost $71 a barrel,
extending losses from the previous session, on the rise in U.S.
stockpiles of crude. []
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the
statistical arm of the Department of Energy, reported on
Wednesday that crude stocks in the world's largest energy
consumer rose by 200,000 barrels last week.
U.S. crude for October <CLc1> was down $1.00 at $71.05 a
barrel, after falling $2.32 on Tuesday.
Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 61 cents to $71.21 a barrel after
losing $2.44 the previous day.
U.S. government debt prices fell. The benchmark 10-year
note <US10YT=RR> was down 4/32 in price to yield 3.45 percent.
Gold eased as the dollar recovered losses against the euro.
[]
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> in New York
were down $1.00 at $945 an ounce.
The ICE Futures' dollar index <.DXY> rose 0.6 percent to
78.723. The euro fell about 0.4 percent to $1.4235 <EUR=>.
Japan's Nikkei share average closed up 1.4 percent <>
to a fresh 10-month high, while the MSCI index of Asia Pacific
stocks traded outside Japan rose 0.3 percent <.MIAPJ0000PUS>.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and
Richard Leong in New York; David Sheppard, Brian Gorman,
Kirsten Donovan and Simon Falush in London; writing by Herbert
Lash; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
