* Stocks weaker on central banks, China worries
* Greek debt in focus at Brussels meeting
* Dollar firmer, euro slips
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Concerns about monetary
tightening in China and caution ahead of U.S. and Japanese
central bank policy meetings this week weighed on financial
markets on Monday, weakening stocks.
The dollar strengthened a bit as a result.
MSCI's all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> was off 0.3
percent, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> down
0.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei closing up just 0.01 percent
<>.
"There's a strong sense of wait and see in the market ahead
of the meetings at the BOJ and the Federal Reserve, making trade
rather range-bound," said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical
analyst at Mizuho Securities.
"At current levels, there is more profit-taking pressure and
little active buying, except for short-covering."
The U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan both meet in the
coming week and will be keenly watched for their views on how
attempts to ignite economic growth have fared.
Wednesday's Fed meeting is expected to hold interest rates
near zero and reiterate the need for an "extended period" of
"exceptionally low" rates. []
The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, is under pressure to loosen
policy at its meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, most likely in
the form of increasing funds offered under its lending
operation. []
China, in the meantime, is causing some investors concern
because of both its rising inflation and its insistence that the
yuan currency is not undervalued, a bone of contention with the
United States.
On again, off again reports of European Union help for
debt-burdened Greece were also putting some investors on edge.
Finance ministers from the 16 countries using the euro, the
Eurogroup, were meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the
Greek debtcrisis and the country's progress in introducing
austerity measures necessary to regain the confidence of markets
[]
BONDS STEADY, DOLLAR FIRMER
Partly as a result of the Brussels meeting, euro zone
government bonds were relatively steady, with short-term debt
prices rising slightly.
A senior EU source told Reuters on Saturday a mechanism for
helping Greece would likely be agreed, although French and
German authorities have expressed doubts a deal will be reached.
"We'll obviously be watching that and any bailout should be
supportive for peripherals at the margin," said a bond trader in
London.
The dollar reversed Friday's losses to hold a slightly
firmer tone while the euro slipped on concerns about Greece.
"The Brussels meeting is in focus today but we still think
there is no quick-fix for the Greek problem. We still think the
euro will go down overall," said SEB currency strategist Johan
Javeus.
The euro <EUR=> was trading down 0.2 percent on the day at
$1.3740, retreating from a three-week high of $1.3796 hit on
Friday.
(Additional reporting by Ian Chua and Neal Armstrong, editing
by Mike Peacock)
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