* U.S. jobless claims, durable goods prompt recovery fears
* Dollar gains vs euro, falls vs yen on risk aversion
* Stocks fall as U.S. woes pile onto Greek ratings worries
* Oil falls more than 3 percent
(Recasts, updates prices, adds details)
By Luciana Lopez
NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Global stocks slid and oil
slumped more than 3 percent on Thursday after weak U.S. jobless
and durable goods data added to investor nervousness about the
sustainability of an economic recovery in a market already
rattled by a possible Greek debt downgrade.
The yen and the dollar, traditional safe-haven currencies,
rose, and U.S. Treasuries also gained on the bid for safety.
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose last
week, defying expectations for a fall, and new orders for
long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods in January also
disappointed. []
"Our domestic macro numbers speak of lingering weakness
everywhere in the economy," said Peter Kenny, managing director
at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey. "It's very
difficult to make a compelling argument to buy the market."
European stocks had fallen earlier after two major ratings
agencies suggested they might downgrade the sovereign debt of
debt-laden Greece.
Moody's said a change in Greece's rating would depend on
the enactment of fiscal reform plans, and Standard & Poor's
said a downgrade of one or two notches in the next month
remains possible. See [] and []
"All morning, the market has been weak on comments on
Greece," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak
& Co in New York. "You combine the weak economic data here, and
you have further weakness."
European shares fell to their lowest level in more than a
week, marking the biggest one-day decline in three weeks, and
U.S. shares were on track for their biggest drop in three
weeks.
Energy shares on both sides of the Atlantic slid with the
drop in crude oil prices.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares finished 1.67 percent lower at 996.73 points,
the lowest close since Feb 15.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 172.38
points, or 1.66 percent, at 10,201.78. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 16.69 points, or 1.51 percent, at
1,088.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 33.45
points, or 1.50 percent, at 2,202.45.
Industrial shares were among the biggest decliners, after
the U.S. government reported that durable goods orders,
excluding transportation, fell 0.6 percent in January.
World stocks measured in the MSCI All-Country World Index
<.MIWD00000PUS> slid 1.55 percent percent.
The investor fears boosted the yen <JPY=>, as the dollar
hit a session low of 88.10 yen, its lowest in about three
weeks, according to Reuters data. It last traded at 88.88 yen,
down 1.46 percent on the day.
The euro <EUR=> fell as low as $1.3452, near a nine-month
low of $1.3442 hit on Friday, according to Reuters data. It
last traded at $1.3486, down 0.41 percent.
"The yen has strengthened through Asian and European
trading. Sovereign risk fears and the threats of a downgrade of
Greece has definitely had an impact," said Sacha Tihanyi,
currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
"The initial jobless claims data has really helped to push
more of a U.S.-centric feeling of risk aversion," he added.
U.S. Treasuries rose on the flight to safer investments.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
12/32, with the yield at 3.6456 percent. The two-year U.S.
Treasury note <US2YT=RR> was up 2/32, with the yield at 0.8276
percent. The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond <US30YT=RR> was up
22/32, with the yield at 4.5921 percent.
Borrowing costs for peripheral euro zone countries rose on
concerns over Greece, with the 10-year Greek/German bond yield
spread widening to as much as 365 basis points from 342 bps on
Wednesday.
The equivalent Spanish spread moved out by as much as 5
basis points to 81 basis points as concerns grew that the
country might become the next in the euro zone to struggle
under the weight of a large budget deficit.
Commodity prices also fell, with oil hit both by fears over
the economy and the rise in the dollar against the yen.
"Economic data is testing the optimism of some investors
who had hoped that rebounding economic growth would push up
demand for commodities," said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at
Commerzbank.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> down $2.58, or 3.23
percent, to $77.42 per barrel.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average closed down 1 percent.
(Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou, Ellis Mnyandu and
Rodrigo Campos in New York and Atul Prakash and William James
in London; Editing by Leslie Adler)
