* Equities slide worldwide on Greek jitters, jobs data
* Euro edges near 2010 low versus U.S. dollar
* ECB's Trichet says: 'A default in not an issue'
(Updates with U.S. markets; adds byline, changes dateline,
previous LONDON)
By Jennifer Ablan and Jeremy Gaunt
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slid and
the euro fell to near its lowest level against the dollar this
year on Thursday on growing doubts about Greece's ability to
resolve its fiscal problems.
In New York the euro <EUR=> was down 0.07 percent at
$1.3331 after hitting a low around $1.3282, according to
Reuters data. This was near its 2010 trough of $1.3267 set in
March on electronic trading platform EBS, which was also its
lowest since May last year.
World markets were still under selling pressure even after
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said Greece
was not in danger of defaulting. "I would say that taking all
the information I have, a default is not an issue for Greece,"
Trichet said. "We are responsible for 330 million people and
for 100 percent of the GDP of the euro area. Greece represents
2.5 percent of the GDP of the euro area, but it is obviously an
important issue." For more see [].
Earlier, the ECB left euro zone interest rates at a record
low of 1 percent. []
The mood in the euro zone spilled over into stocks
worldwide.
MSCI's all-country world index of global equities
<.MIWD00000PUS> was off 0.66 percent, a decline extended in
emerging market shares <.MSCIEF>, down 0.84 percent.
At 10:15 a.m. EST (1415 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial
average <> was down 34.46 points, or 0.32 percent, at
10,863.06, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was
down 5.11 points, or 0.43 percent, at 1,177.34. The Nasdaq
Composite Index <> was down 13.33 points, or 0.55 percent,
at 2,417.83.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <> was down 1.1 percent,
after the Nikkei 225 Index <> had fallen the same amount.
"It is now up to the Greek government to go publicly to the
EU and IMF and ask for the cash and the support; the matter
cannot be long delayed," Chris Pryce, Fitch Ratings' senior
analyst for Greece, told Reuters in an interview.
RISK AVERSION RISES
U.S. Treasury debt prices rose as pressure on equities
continued globally.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
4/32, with the yield at 3.85 percent, while the 2-year U.S.
Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was up 1/32, with the yield at 1.04
percent. The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond <US30YT=RR> was up
3/32, with the yield at 4.73 percent.
Treasuries got a boost on weak jobless claims data. The
number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment
insurance rose unexpectedly last week, reflecting seasonal
volatility, according to a government report on Thursday.
[]
The dollar was up against a basket of major trading-partner
currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.2 percent at
81.602 from a previous session close of 81.443.
The euro <EUR=> was down 0.07 percent at $1.3331 from a
previous session close of $1.3340. Against the yen, the dollar
<JPY=> was down 0.32 percent at 93.04 yen from a previous
session close of 93.34.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> fell 86 cents, or 1
percent, to $85.02 per barrel, while spot gold <XAU=> rose
$1.50, or 0.13 percent, to $1149.00. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB
Index <.CRB> was down 0.92 percent, at 275.05.
(Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou; Editing by James
Dalgleish)
