GLOBAL MARKETS-Equities mixed as G20 meet on economy

                                
 * World stocks mixed ahead of G20
                                
 * Japan gains 3 percent, Europe down 0.4 percent
                                
 * Dollar gains as U.S. automaker woes debated
                                
 * World stocks end Q1 with biggest gain since 1999
                                
 
                                
 By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
                                
 LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - World stocks kicked off a new
quarter on Wednesday with strong gains in Japan and losses in
Europe after registering their best monthly performance since
December 1999.
                                
 Wall Street looked set for losses, but MSCI's all-country
world index <.MIWD00000PUS> was up slightly on the day, having
risen 7.94 percent in March.
                                
 Its emerging market counterpart <.MSCIEF> was up 1 percent.
It gained 14.15 percent last month, the highest monthly rise
since December 1993.
                                
 (For Q1 market moves, click [ID:nLV956252])
                                
 Investors were firmly focused on the meeting of G20 leaders
in Britain due to begin later in the day, looking for more
confirmation there will be coordinated efforts to ward off a
prolonged slump in world economic growth.
                                
 "The danger is that the outcome vastly disappoints the
hype," Gary Dugan, chief investment officer of Merrill Lynch
Global Wealth Management, said in a preview note.
                                
 There is the potential of a spat at the meeting over how
much debt governments should take on in providing stimuli to
their ailing economies. [ID:nL1545444]
                                
U.S. President Barack Obama played down rifts between the
world's leading economies and urged them to act together to find
the fastest route out of global recession.
                                
 The mood in Europe, however, was downbeat. The pan-European
FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares was down 0.4
percent, although this was well off lows and followed a 3.5
percent rise in the previous session.
                                
 Earlier, expectations of a decision soon on struggling U.S.
automakers lifted Japanese stocks, underlining the impact that
government intervention in economics currently has on markets.
                                
 The New York Times said the White House was looking to ease
U.S. auto maker General Motors <GM.N> into a "controlled"
bankruptcy.
                                
 Japan's Nikkei <.N225>, which contains major Japanese
automakers, gained 3 percent.
                                
 
                                
 STRONGER DOLLAR
                                
 The dollar was flat against major currencies having earlier
been supported by the uncertainty over the fate of U.S.
carmakers, which prompted investors to seek perceived safer
assets and shun high yielders.
                                
 The euro was flat at $1.3252 <EUR=>.
                                
 "With (GM) bankruptcy as a viable option, the news has
helped sour risk sentiment," said Lee Hardman, currency
economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
                                
 On euro zone government debt markets, the two-year Schatz
yield <EU2YT=RR> was down 5 basis points at 1.235 percent.
Ten-year yields <EU10YT=RR> was slightly lower at 2.983 percent.
(Additional reporting by Tamawa Desai; Editing by Ron Askew)
                                
 
  (To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting; for the MacroScope
Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge
Fund Hub click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub)