* Global stocks slip after quake, tsunami slam Japan
* Yen gains, but outlook seen volatile after quake
* Long-dated U.S. bond prices fall on Japan fears
* Oil prices slide after quake, tsunami slam Japan
(Adds opening of U.S. markets, byline; changes dateline;
previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Japan's massive earthquake
and deadly tsunami pounded commodity and equity markets
worldwide and lifted the yen on Friday on expectations Tokyo
will repatriate funds to pay for repairs.
Oil prices slid more than $3 a barrel, with U.S. crude
<CLc1> falling below $100, while MSCI's all-country world
index of global stocks <.MIWD00000PUS> fell to a five-week low
after the biggest earthquake on record hit northeast Japan. For
details see: []
The Nikkei 225 index <> in Japan slid 1.7 percent.
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake triggered a 10-meter tsunami
that killed hundreds of people and swept away everything in its
path, including houses, ships and cars.
Metals prices skidded on worries about the quake's impact
on the world's third-largest consumer of commodities, as well
as on Chinese inflation data, which fueled concerns over demand
from the world's top consumer of metals. []
Chinese February inflation topped expectations at 4.9
percent and looked set to climb further in coming months,
adding to pressure for another dose of monetary tightening.
[]
North Sea Brent <LCOc1> fell 1.5 percent to $113.77, while
U.S. light sweet crude was off 2.2 percent to $100.50.
"The earthquake is clearly risk-negative, and you have seen
continuation of selling that has been going on all week. But
there are plenty of other things to make the world unhappy,"
RBS global head of commodity and strategy Nick Moore said.
European shares dropped to three-month lows, reflecting an
increase in risk aversion, but U.S. stocks managed limited
losses as U.S. Commerce Department data pointed to strong
consumer spending and accelerated growth in the first quarter.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
shares was down 0.6 percent.
U.S. retail sales posted their largest gain in four months
in February as shoppers stepped up purchases of autos, clothes
and other goods even as they spent more for gasoline.
[]
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 32.21
points, or 0.27 percent, at 11,952.40. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> lost 2.07 points, or 0.16 percent, to
1,293.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 7.09
points, or 0.26 percent, at 2,693.93.
The yen gained against the dollar and the euro, buoyed by
expectations repatriated funds will flow in to pay for
repairing quake- and tsunami-caused damages. []
The yen recovered after an initial knee-jerk reaction to
sell the currency drove it to a two-week low against the
dollar. Analysts said it could stay choppy on near-term worries
about the impact on a shaky Japanese economy.
Gold slipped but was supported by the safe-haven buying on
the earthquake and investor concerns over unrest in the Middle
East. []
Japanese stock futures fell 2.4 percent following the
earthquake, which hit just before the market's close. But
players said the slide may not be too deep because major cities
and manufacturing facilities were not affected. []
But global equity markets were rattled by worries about the
festering European debt crisis and Middle East unrest.
"You have huge global macro events happening and everybody
is focused on these events. You have had almost this perfect
storm over the past two days," said Cort Gwon, chief strategist
at HudsonView Capital Management in New York.
U.S. Treasury debt prices were lower on fears that Japanese
insurers may need to sell bonds to pay for damages.
[]
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 5/32 in price to yield 3.3803 percent.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak in New York; Jessica Mortimer,
Ikuko Kurahone, Harpreet Bhal and Pratima Desai in London;
Writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by Dan Grebler)
