* U.S. stocks slip on durables orders
* U.S. dollar rises across the board as stocks slip
* Bonds mixed on weaker stocks, poor US auction
* Oil falls more than 5 pct after inventory data
(Updates with U.S. markets activity, changes dateline;
previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices tumbled more
than 5.0 percent on Monday on surprisingly higher U.S. crude
inventories while U.S. stocks slid on weaker-than-expected data
on U.S. durable goods orders, fanning fears of a weak economic
recovery.
The U.S. dollar rose broadly as a sell-off in Shanghai
stocks and the drop in new orders for long-lasting U.S.
manufactured goods revived the safe-haven demand for the
greenback. []
Gold fell to a two-week low in Europe and copper slumped to
its lowest price in a week as rising risk aversion boosted the
dollar, which prompted losses across most commodities.
[][]
The price of euro zone government debt followed U.S. bonds
higher initially but a rebound in European equities dampened
the appeal of Bunds and other regional debt, while a record
amount of new U.S. debt coming to market kept investors on
edge. [][]
A slew of corporate results, including Germany's Bayer
<BAYG.DE> and Daimler <DAIGn.DE>, encouraged investors in
Europe, where chemicals companies were among the biggest
gainers. []
"The question was whether European companies would be able
to match the performance of their U.S. peers, who have been
reporting rock-solid numbers. What we saw today is quite
supportive," said Gerhard Schwarz, head of global equity
strategy at UniCredit, in Munich.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of European top shares
rose 0.9 percent to close at 910.67 points, just short an
eight-month closing high.
The disappointing new orders of U.S durable goods fueled
fears of ongoing economic weakness, helping U.S. shares drop,
while declining commodity prices hit shares of energy and
resource companies.
Weak demand for new cars and civilian aircraft pulled U.S.
orders for costly durable goods down in June, but an underlying
trend of improved manufacturing activity continued.
Shares of energy companies weighed on the Dow, with Chevron
Corp <CVX.N> falling 2.3 percent, while Exxon Mobil Corp
<XOM.N> fell 1.7 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> shed 55.02 points,
or 0.61 percent, to 9,041.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> fell 7.49 points, or 0.76 percent, to 972.13. The Nasdaq
Composite Index <> fell 13.20 points, or 0.67 percent, to
1,962.31.
A late sell-off in Shanghai depressed emerging market
stocks, while falling commodity prices hampered U.S. equities
as investors mulled whether authorities in China would curb
lending to stem market excesses.
"I'm surprised the markets didn't open down more strongly
based on what happened in China," said Frank Gretz, market
analyst and technician for Shields & Co. in New York. "It's
most affecting certain sectors like the commodities trade."
The euro fell more than 1.0 percent to below $1.41 against
the dollar at one point, and the dollar rose more than 1
percent versus the Swiss franc.
"The greenback started to regain its footing as traders
were reluctant to become too aggressive with questions
remaining over growth going forward," said John Rivera,
currency analyst at DailyFX.com in New York.
Japanese shares gained but stocks in Australia and Hong
Kong fell after strong run-ups in the past two weeks. The MSCI
Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 2.6
percent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei average <> edged up 0.3
percent to its highest close in seven weeks.
(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu, Wanfeng Zhou, Chris Reese in New
York; Brian Gorman, Joe Brock, Emelia Sithole-Matarise in
London; writing by Herbert Lash)
