* European stocks rise on EU bailout for Portugal
* ECB raises rates, euro weaker
* Wall Street falls after strong earthquake in Japan
* Gold, corn at new record highs
(Recasts, adds Japan, quote, updates prices)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, April 7 (Reuters) - Global equities fell after a strong earthquake shook Japan and the euro fell against the dollar as the European Central Bank raised rates but signaled it was not necessarily the start of a round of hikes.
U.S. stocks slid to session lows after the earthquake measuring 7.4 shook northeast and eastern Japan. A tsunami warning was issued for the northeastern coast, an area badly hit by March's earthquake.
European stocks fell following the news and the dollar extended losses against the yen. Nikkei futures were down 1.8 percent.
"We started to drop on this earthquake news out of Japan. It seems to be generating a bit of jitteriness and has caused people to take a bit of profit," said Nick Kalivas, senior equity index analyst at MF Global in Chicago.
"In a couple hours from now if it looks like damage is minimal, the market the will go back to trading economics as opposed to earthquakes."
European shares had earlier gained after Portugal's request for aid fostered hopes the region's debt crisis will be staunched. The pan-European European FTSEurofirst 300 stock index <.FTEU3> was down 0.2 percent
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 56.01 points, or 0.45 percent, to 12,370.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 3.91 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1,331.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 6.05 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,793.77.
World stocks as measured by MSCI <.MIWD00000PUS> were weak, dipping 0.2 percent
RATE HIKE
The ECB raised rates by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent to counter firming inflation pressures. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said it was not necessarily the start of a series of similar steps, disappointing some who had expected a more hawkish tone. For details, see [ID:nLDE7351QH]
"This makes the ECB the first major developed economy central bank to hike rates, and the decision will cement its reputation as a single-minded inflation fighter," said ABN Amro economist Nick Kounis.
"The hike is unwelcome for peripheral countries, but arguably the core member states were in need of this move already some time ago. In that sense, the timing of the increase is a balancing act, which is part and parcel of the one-size-fits-all monetary policy," he added.
The euro
It was the first rate increase since 2008 and followed a day after Portugal's caretaker government requested European Union aid at the urging of leading bankers. They wanted a bailout to help the economy and safeguard its banking system.
Portugal said it will make the formal request for aid later on Thursday. Lisbon has not yet said how much it will need. [ID:nLSB001088]
Further contagion in the debt crisis was not being ruled out, but other countries that have been struggling, notably Spain, are less likely to be drawn in.
Investors got more signs of a firming labor market as new U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week. Other data showed March was not as bad as expected for many U.S. retailers even in the face of higher gasoline prices. [ID:nN0784911] [ID:nN07294366]
Among commodities, spot gold was recently bid at $1,464.12
an ounce after hitting a new peak, while Chicago corn futures
(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Nick Olivari in New York, Lucia Mutikani in Washington, Paul Carrel in Frankfurt; Editing by Andrew Hay)