* World stocks weaken after U.S. data
* Gold rises to record highs on safe-haven bid
* Currency intervention concerns continue
(Updates with European markets' close)
By Manuela Badawy
NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters) - World stocks fell on Thursday
as data showed the U.S. economy's recovery remained halting,
while the dollar was flat against the yen a day after Japan's
huge intervention to weaken its currency.
Gold rose to a record high above $1,275 per ounce as
jitters about any further yen selling and broader economic
uncertainty enticed more investors to the safe-haven
commodity.
U.S. government bond prices fell after Philadelphia Federal
Reserve data suggested business conditions contracted in the
U.S. Mid-Atlantic region in August, though not as severely as
in July, while U.S. weekly claims for unemployment benefits
dropped to a two-month low but still remained high.
"All the ingredients are still there, all the uncertainty
and fear, to keep gold underpinned." said Robin Bhar, analyst
at Credit Agricole in London.
Investors remained worried that high U.S. jobless numbers,
despite falls in weekly insurance claims, would signal a
slowdown in the pace of the economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 28.57
points, or 0.27 percent, at 10,544.16. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 6.17 points, or 0.55 percent, at
1,118.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 12.48
points, or 0.54 percent, at 2,288.84.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
ended 0.8 percent lower to hit its lowest closing level in a
week after disappointing British retail sales in August, a sign
the UK economy was on a slow growth path.
"Times are difficult because of the combination of high
unemployment, banks not lending yet and governments starting to
implement austerity measures. All these factors are not going
to be resolved overnight," said Franz Weis, a fund manager at
Comgest in Paris.
MSCI's All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS> was down
0.51 percent, while Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei stock index
<> ended down 0.07 percent.
YEN TALK
Investors were jittery after Wednesday's currency
intervention by Japan, its first in six years, that knocked the
yen from a 15-year high versus the dollar. The Bank of Japan's
money market data showed the yen-selling intervention may have
totaled around 1.76 trillion to 1.86 trillion yen ($20.52-21.69
billion). []
Adding to investor nerves, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto
Kan pointed to more potential yen selling.
In midday trading, the dollar <JPY=> was down 0.05 percent
at 85.69 from a previous session close of 85.73.
"Things have been quiet on the intervention front so far
today. Clients are hesitant at this point to touch dollar/yen
in either direction," said Amelia Bourdeau, senior currency
strategist at UBS AG in Stamford, Connecticut.
Wednesday's move was designed to protect Japanese exports
from a too-competitive exchange rate and ward off job losses.
The euro rose to its highest in more than a month against
the dollar <EUR=> to $1.3112 and was last trading up 0.55
percent at $1.3075, and against the yen <EURJPY=> it rose to
112.24 after strong demand at a Spanish bond auction reinforced
confidence in Europe's sovereign issues.
Spain sold a combined 4 billion euros in 10-year and
30-year bonds, at the top of its targeted range, attracting
solid demand and lower yields than its last auction in June.
[]
The country was among those most in the limelight during
the sovereign debt crisis earlier this year.
The Swiss franc weakened broadly after the Swiss National
Bank kept interest rates unchanged as expected and forecast a
slowdown in economic growth because of strength in the
currency. []
BONDS AND COMMODITIES
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 11/32, with the yield at 2.7626 percent after the
Philadelphia Fed data on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.
The 2-year U.S. Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was unchanged,
with the yield at 0.4836 percent. The 30-year U.S. Treasury
bond <US30YT=RR> was down 31/32, with the yield at 3.932
percent.
Crude oil <CLc1> fell $1.61, or 2.1 percent, to $74.45 a
barrel ahead of the expected reopening of a North American
pipeline that will restore crude supplies to U.S. refiners.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $6.70, or 0.53 percent, to
$1274.20. Earlier on Thursday it hit a record $1,277.70 an
ounce. U.S. December gold futures also rose to a historic high
<GCZ0>.
(Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou in New York and Harpreet
Bhal, Pratima Desai and Jeremy Gaunt in London; Editing by
Padraic Cassidy)
