* Stocks weaker on central banks, China worries
* Wall Street set for losses
* Greek debt in focus at Brussels meeting
* Euro slips, dollar firmer
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 euro, meanwhile, slipped on concerns that a potential
financial aid package for Greece, being discussed by finance
ministers in Brussels, would not be enough to solve the euro
zone's sovereign debt crisis.
MSCI's all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> was off 0.3
percent, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> down
tha same and Japan's Nikkei closing up just 0.01 percent
<>. Wall Street looked set to open lower.
"We have had quite a lot of macro uncertainties out there,"
said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of private client research at
Charles Stanley in London.
"The equity markets have had a high degree of complacency
regarding these concerns."
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 debt crisis and the country's progress in introducing
austerity measures necessary to regain the confidence of markets
[]
The ministers will look at how to give Greece financial aid
should it ask for help, but there were signs France and Germany
were holding out on making concrete commitments.
EURO SLIPS ON GREECE
The euro slipped with some analysts saying that anyone
hoping for a quick resolution to the Greek debt issue would be
disappointed.
"I don't see anything solid coming out of Brussels and the
overall picture is little changed," said Maurice Pomery,
managing director at consultants Strategic Alpha.
The euro <EUR=> was trading down 0.4 percent on the day at
$1.3704, retreating from a three-week high of $1.3796 hit on
Friday.
The dollar <.DXY> traded up around 0.4 percent against a
basket of currencies.
Euro zone government bond prices were higher.
(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson, Ian Chua and Neal
Armstrong, editing by Mike Peacock)
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