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GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks fall, dollar rebounds on U.S. worry

Published 09/25/2009, 09:15 AM
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* U.S. durable goods orders fall unexpectedly in August

* G20 to keep emergency economic supports in place

* MSCI world stock index down 0.5 pct on day (Updates prices, adds U.S. durable goods data) By Ian Chua

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Global stocks fell to a 1-1/2 week low on Friday while the dollar rebounded against a basket of major currencies as investors cut risky bets after U.S. data showed an unexpected fall in new orders for durable goods.

U.S. stock futures fell on the data, foreshadowing a lower start on Wall Street. The report came a day after weak U.S. housing data and plans by world central banks to scale back infusions of U.S. dollars into their banking system sent investors scurrying to the exit. [ID:nN24416515] [ID:nN25493668]

"In essence, this is a bit of a reality check for people. It means there is more to be done and we are not out of the woods yet," said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research.com.

Ahead of the U.S. data, global stocks had struggled even after the G20 vowed to continue to provide emergency economic supports until a durable recovery is secured. [ID:nSUM000113]

Following a push to multi-month highs, stocks need a fresh impetus for further upside, analysts said.

"The medium-term outlook is still very positive, but in the very short term, we should be more cautious," said Romain Boscher, chief investment officer at Groupama Asset Management, noting the stock market was registering overbought signals.

The MSCI all-country world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 0.6 percent to a 1-1/2 week at 284.42. This week, it hit a near one-year peak and is still up about 25 percent so far this year.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares slipped 0.2 percent and Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> slid 0.5 percent.

"There are concerns about the sustainability of the economic upturn as it is only in its infancy," said Nick Stamenkovic, bond strategist at RIA in Edinburgh.

That concerned had fuelled a selloff in commodity prices this week, although they were mostly steadier on Friday. Copper was off a one-month low while U.S. crude held just above an eight-week low of $65.05 a barrel.

Emerging shares <.MSCIEF>, which hit a 12-month high this week, fell 0.4 percent.

Despite an eight-week streak of outflows from safe haven money market funds being broken, equity funds took in $5.42 billion in the week to Sept. 23, with emerging market equity funds seeing their biggest week of inflows since early June, fund tracker EPFR Global said. [ID:nN24311167]

DOLLAR SOFT, BONDS GAIN

In currency markets, the dollar rebounded against a basket of major currencies with the dollar index <.DXY> climbing 0.1 percent after having spent most of the session in negative territory.

It was still weaker against the yen, however, having earlier fallen to a 7-1/2 month low below 90 yen after a former Japanese Ministry of Finance official said Japanese authorities would be unlikely to take action against the yen's rise through the psychologically key level.

The outlook for the dollar still remained weak however.

"The cyclical argument has not changed to favour the dollar," said Michael Klawitter, senior currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

"The (G20) is making clear that stimulus will stay in place until a recovery is sustainable," he said, adding that this suggested that interest rates, including those for the dollar, would remain low for a while yet.

Underpinned by weakness in stocks, lower risk government bond prices held firm, keeping yields under pressure.

The German 10-year government bond yield , the euro zone's benchmark, slipped 3.1 basis points to 3.274 percent, while the U.S. equivalent slipped a touch to 3.376 percent. (Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Atul Prakash in LONDON and Kevin Plumberg in HONG KONG; Editing by Andy Bruce)

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