* Euro slips to 5-month lows on concerns over Greek woes
* Global stocks sell off after China restricts lending
* Crude falls below $78 a barrel on world growth concerns
* U.S. debt prices rise after U.S. Senate power shift (Updates with U.S. markets, changes byline; dateline previously LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The euro slumped to five-month lows on Wednesday on worries over Greece's fiscal woes and global equity markets sold off after China, the world's growth engine, ordered banks to curb lending to cool its economy.
Crude oil fell below $78 a barrel while copper, a proxy for Chinese growth, shed nearly 2 percent on fears that demand in China will slow as authorities tighten monetary policy. For details see: [IN:nSGE60J079]and[ID:nLDE60J0O3]
The lending restrictions in China sparked worry about the global economic recovery, knocking down equity markets around the world and pushing the U.S. dollar to a one-month high relative to a basket of major currencies.
A surge of new lending this month in China triggered a series of steps by authorities to rid the financial system of excess cash that can fuel inflation and asset bubbles. [ID:nTOE60J09N]
U.S. stocks slipped almost 2 percent before recouping some losses and MSCI's all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 1.9 percent. European stocks closed down 1.5 percent.
It was the worst day for U.S. stocks so far in 2010, just one day after U.S. and European shares closed at 15-month highs.
The stronger dollar crimped commodity prices while investor
unease over a conservative outlook from International Business
Machines Corp
IBM's earnings outlook for 2010 implies a slowdown in earnings per share growth compared to recent years, analysts said. Its shares fell 3.4 percent.
"You combine what's going on in China with the strength in the dollar and you have an unwind of the commodity trade," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York. "Then you throw in mediocre earnings relative to expectations and the market is taking a well-needed correction."
The CBOE Volatility index <.VIX>, Wall Street's favorite measure of investor fear, jumped more than 11 percent in its biggest one-day jump in nearly two months as caution swirled.
Shares of commodity-related companies dragged the S&P materials sector <.GSPM> down more than 2.2 percent. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index <.CRB> was down about 1.5 percent.
After midday, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 187.88 points, or 1.75 percent, at 10,537.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 18.29 points, or 1.59 percent, at 1,131.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 43.20 points, or 1.86 percent, at 2,277.20.
European stocks also fell on a drop in commodity shares and as banks fell over worries about the sector's health.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares ended 1.5 percent lower at 1,052.53 points.
In currency markets, the euro fell as concerns intensified over cash-strapped Greece's ability to finance its mounting budget deficit, driving the cost of insuring against a Greek sovereign debt default to a record high. [ID:nLDE60J1Y6]
"Concerns about Greece and the implications for the euro and the euro zone have been the catalyst for the dollar strength," said John McCarthy, director of foreign exchange at ING Capital Markets in New York.
The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 1.16 percent at 78.40.
The euro
U.S. Treasury debt prices rose as stock prices fell sharply and on optimism that new government debt supply could moderate after the Democrats lost their supramajority in the U.S. Senate with the election of Republican Scott Brown to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy.
U.S. government debt prices joined in a global upward
trend, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note
U.S. gold futures hit a two-week low as the dollar's sharp rally dampened bullion's investment appeal as a hedge against paper currency depreciation. [ID:nN20392095]
Spot gold prices
The MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan eased 1.01 percent <.MIAPJ0000PUS>, while Thomson Reuters index of regional shares <.TRXFLDAXPU> lost 0.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei <.N225> gave up early gains to drop 0.25 percent. (Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu, Vivianne Rodrigues, Emily Flitter in New York; Chris Baldwin, Kirsten Donovan and Ian Chua in London; writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by Leslie Adler)