* European, Asian stocks fall on anaemic global recovery
* Euro hits six-week low vs dlr; nine-yr trough vs yen
* German 10-, 30-year government bond yields at record lows
* Yen hits 15-year high vs dollar
By Emelia Sithole-Matarise
LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - World stocks fell on Tuesday as
investors fretting about an anaemic global recovery dumped risky
assets and fled into government debt and other safe-haven assets
including the yen, which hit a 15-year high against the dollar.
Recent data, particularly from the United States, have shown
signs of fatigue in the global economy despite the extension of
accommodative policy measures in most countries.
Comments from a Bank of England policymaker that the UK
risked sliding back into recession added to broader risk
aversion, sending investors scrambling into government debt,
driving 10-year British bond yields near record lows and 30-year
German bond yields to all-time troughs. Bond yields move
inversely to prices.
Major European shares <> shed more than 1 percent, and
futures for the S&P 500 <SPc1> were down 0.4 percent by 0747
GMT, pointing to a lower start on Wall Street.
"If the U.S. housing data today is weak, that could take the
market down," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven
Investment Management. "In light volumes, it's reacting to every
bit of news, and the next economic news could be bad. M&A news
has had a disproportionate effect."
Japan's Nikkei average <> fell 1.3 percent, dipping
below the closely watched 9,000 mark for the first time in 15
months, pressured by selling from hedge funds and foreigners.
The MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 0.7 percent
to retest one-month lows. The Thomson Reuters global stock index
<.TRXFLDGLPU> shed 0.8 percent.
The Nikkei index has shed nearly 15 percent so far this
year, compared to a 2.6 percent fall in the MSCI Asia ex-Japan
index. The 9,000-9,100 range had been strong support for the
benchmark Nikkei since last year.
"Worries about the economy will not go away overnight, and
investors will closely watch what measures emerge, including
steps aimed at fending off a so-called double-dip recession in
the U.S. economy," said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at
Securities Japan Inc.
BUOYANT YEN
The retreat in equities buoyed the yen to a fresh 15-year
peak against the dollar and a nine-year peak against the euro
after Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda made no comment
on currency intervention.
Noda said recent currency moves are clearly one-sided and
that disorderly moves can be harmful to the stability of the
economy and the financial system. []
The dollar <JPY=> fell as low as 84.34 yen on trading
platform EBS, a fall of around 0.7 percent on the day, while the
euro <EURJPY=R> fell more than one percent to around 106.35 yen
on EBS.
Against the dollar, the euro fell to a six-week low of
$1.2614 on EBS.
The scramble for less risky assets sent the 10-year and
30-year German Bund yields <DE10YT=TWEB> <DE30YT=TWEB> down more
than 4 bps on the day to record lows at 2.214 percent and 2.871
percent respectively.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields were down five bps on
the day at 2.546 percent <US10YT=RR>, hovering near 17-month
lows close to 2.53 percent struck last Friday.
"It's hard to make a bearish case for bonds. That said, we're
susceptible to a a correction if the flow of headlines turns in
any way more positive," said Sean Maloney, strategist at Nomura.
Spot gold <XAU=> fell more than $2 to $1,221 an ounce after
hitting a one-week low of $1,219.30, as falling equities
prompted investors to sell bullion to cover losses, while a
firmer dollar also put pressure on gold.
Crude oil <CLc1> lost nearly a dollar at $72.20 a barrel, a
seven-week low, as the dollar rose and the lacklustre U.S.
driving season approached its end without triggering a seasonal
stockpile drop.
(Additional reporting by Ian Chua and Brian Gorman in London,
Kevin Yao in Singapore; editing by Stephen Nisbet)
