* Euro falls broadly as Greek borrowing costs surge
* Global shares flat even as corporate results surprise
* Greek debt hammered as aid deal patience runs thin
* Oil slips below $84 ahead of inventory data
(Updates with U.S. markets, adds byline, dateline NEW YORK)
By Herbert Lash and Claire Milhench
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - The euro fell broadly
on Wednesday as Greek borrowing costs hit 12-year highs on
impatience over Greece's aid deal while global stocks were
flat.
The euro fell for the fifth day versus the U.S. dollar to a
near two-week low as the premium investors demand to hold Greek
government bonds rather than German Bunds surged past 500 basis
points. For details see: []
Stocks were pulled between solid corporate results and
Athens' woes.
Greece is still pushing to finance its debt through market
issuance but investors are increasingly convinced it will have
to tap a joint European Union- International Monetary Fund
emergency loan package.
Markets lost patience after Greece's finance minister said
talks with European and IMF officials will last two weeks.
[] []
The move to dump Greek debt may force Athens to take aid
sooner rather than later.
The yield on 10-year Greek debt rose to 8.4 percent, up
more than two and one-half percentage points since the start of
2010 and 2.5 times the 3.085 percent yield that Germany pays.
"The market is losing confidence in the prospect for
Greece, which should weigh on the euro," said Camilla Sutton,
senior currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto. "The
market is forcing Greece to ask for the aid."
Copper prices fell more than 1 percent and gold trimmed
earlier gains as the euro fell broadly. Bullion managed to hold
its ground as worries about Greece spurred safe-haven buying.
[]
Industrial metals analysts said robust Chinese imports data
kept them bullish about copper for the longer-term.
[]
European shares slipped, with banks losing ground on Greece
worries, but U.S. shares edged higher amid stellar corporate
earnings, including blow-out results from Apple Inc <AAPL.O>.
Apple shares rose 5.7 percent.
Other U.S. bellwethers, all Dow components, that surprised
on the upside included AT&T Inc <T.N>, Boeing Co <BA.N>,
McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> and diversified U.S. manufacturer
United Technologies Corp <UTX.N>.
MSCI's all-country world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> was
down 0.1 percent, and Wall Street traded sideways.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was up 22.07
points, or 0.20 percent, at 11,139.13. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 0.15 points, or 0.01 percent, at
1,207.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 1.23
points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,499.08.
Prices of longer-dated U.S. government debt rose while
shorter-dated notes and bills held steady, as investors swapped
risky Greek and Portuguese bonds for Treasuries and German
bunds.
"Whenever you get market uncertainty, you're going to get a
flight to quality," said John Spinello, Treasury bond
straTEgist at Jefferies & Co. in New York.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
7/32 in price to yield 3.77 percent. The 2-year U.S. Treasury
note <US2YT=RR> was down 2/32 in price to yield 1.03 percent.
Oil prices hovered below $84 a barrel as weak equities and
a stronger dollar offset upbeat sentiment fueled by a
resumption of European air travel. []
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> fell 29 cents to $83.56 a
barrel.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $2.85 to $1,142.80 an ounce.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Wanfeng Zhou, Emily Flitter in
New York; William James, Harpreet Bhal, Joe Brock and Humeyra
Pamuk in London;
(Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Andrew Hay)
