* Dollar, yen gain broadly as equities, oil prices slide
* Dollar index up 0.2 pct at 79.060 <.DXY>
* European shares fall 0.8 pct; China shares fall 4.3 pct
* Sterling tumbles as some BoE members wanted bigger QE
(Adds quotes, data, updates prices; changes byline)
By Jessica Mortimer
LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The dollar and the yen rose
broadly on Wednesday as sharp falls in equities and oil prices
prompted investors to shun riskier assets, denting perceived
higher risk and commodity-linked currencies.
Investors were jolted by earlier steep falls in Chinese
shares. The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 4.3 percent
<>, with investors disappointed authorities did not take
steps to support the market which has fallen 20 percent in two
weeks [].
The falls added to doubts about the extent of the global
economy recovery and concerns that a recent rally in riskier
assets had been overdone, helping push European shares down 0.8
percent <> and oil prices <CLc1> below $69 per barrel.
Amid a dearth of major economic news, traders said the
currency market was taking its cue from stock market moves.
"There is a notion that G7 equities may have got too far
ahead of fundamental dynamics and this is hurting higher risk
currencies," CMC Markets analyst Ashraf Laidi said.
"Because there are no major figures in the U.S. there is
very little that could alter this negative tone in risk
appetite," he added.
At 1140 GMT, the dollar index, which tracks the performance
of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies,
was up 0.2 percent at 79.060 <.DXY>.
A more positive outlook for the dollar would emerge if the
index were to break above 79.60, which is around the 55-day
moving average, traders said.
The euro slipped 0.1 percent against the U.S. currency to
$1.4124 <EUR=>, having earlier fallen as low as $1.4086.
The yen, which along with the dollar typically gains when
equities fall, rose broadly, with the euro down 0.5 percent at
133.22 yen <EURJPY=R> and the dollar down 0.4 percent at 94.28
yen <JPY=>.
"Confidence in the outlook may not be so readily found
amongst investors as was so clearly the case in the first half,"
said Neil Mellor, currency strategist at Bank of New York
Mellon.
STERLING TUMBLES ON SURPRISE BOE SPLIT
Sterling <GBP=> fell sharply, underperforming other major
currencies after a surprise split vote in the Bank of England's
decision earlier in the month showing governor Mervyn King and a
few others calling for an even bigger 75-billion-pound increase
to its quantitative easing programme. []
Meeting minutes showed a split 6-3 vote, with Tim Besley and
David Miles joining King's dissent. They were outvoted by a
decision to expand the programme by 50 billion pounds.
Sterling fell 0.8 percent to $1.6418 while the pound dropped
1.3 percent against the yen to 154.80 yen <GBPJPY=R>.
The euro rose 0.8 percent against the pound to 86.00 pence
<EURGBP=R>.
Meanwhile, higher-risk commodity-linked currencies such as
the Australian and New Zealand dollars also slid, with the
Aussie dollar easing 0.5 percent to $0.8215 <AUD=D4> and the
kiwi losing 0.6 percent to $0.6693 <NZD=D4>.
The Aussie had hit an 11-month high on Friday while the kiwi
reached a 2009 peak, before both retreated as a sell-off in
risky assets gathered pace since late last week.
(Additional reporting by Tamawa Desai in London; Editing by
Andy Bruce)
