GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks steady, sterling slips after BoE comments

* MSCI world equity index steady at 284.17

* Sterling slips after King, euro lower after ZEW

* Oil rises; government bonds fall

By Natsuko Waki

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - World stocks held steady on Tuesday ahead of U.S. data, while sterling fell broadly after the Bank of England Governor said the central bank was looking at cutting the remuneration rate on commercial banks' reserves.

The euro also slipped briefly after the closely-watched ZEW survey showed a smaller-than-expected improvement in German investor morale. A year after Lehman Brothers collapsed, risky assets are almost back at September 2008 levels and some G7 economies have come out of recession.

U.S. data later in the day, including retail sales and a regional manufacturing survey, is expected to reinforce expectations the world's biggest economy is recovering.

The ZEW's expectations index for Germany rose 57.7 from 56.1 in August, reaching its highest since April 2006, although economists had expected a bigger rise.

Given a sharp rise in stocks -- with world stocks rising 65 percent since March -- investors are reluctant to add more exposure to risky assets.

"The general feeling is this is the point in the cycle where investors want to take a pause, before deciding which way they want to jump," said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank.

"Do they want to jump on good news or sell off on the back of the belief the rise has gone too far. At the moment I think the two forces are roughly balancing each other out."

The MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> was steady on the day, having hit an 11-month high last week. The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was broadly unchanged on the day, while U.S. stock futures were pointing to a slightly weaker open on Wall Street later.

"Investors have been moving money out of cash, which is basically returning 0 percent, and into other asset classes. This trend still has a way to go, which should provide a tailwind for the markets as well," Bob Doll, chief investment officer for global equities at BlackRock, said in a note to clients.

"Additionally, reasonable valuations, improving corporate profits and discipline around capital expenditures are all positives. Markets remain unpredictable, and a correction could still occur at any point, but we believe the path of least resistance continues to be up."

Shares fell briefly on Monday after China responded swiftly to a U.S. decision to impose special duties on Chinese tires, creating tensions ahead of a summit of G20 leaders next week.

A trade war is potentially detrimental to the global economy which is just recovering from the worst recession in decades. China is a key buyer of U.S. Treasuries and escalating tensions may damage the dollar.

Emerging stocks <.MSCIEF> rose 0.8 percent. U.S. crude oil rose 0.6 percent to $69.26 a barrel.

BOE TOOLKIT

British interest rate futures <0#FSS> rallied and sterling hit a four-month low of 88.71 pence per euro after the BoE's Mervyn King said it would be "sensible" to cut the rate at which banks reserves are remunerated, and it was something the central bank was looking at. [ID:nKING]

Such an option, first discussed by the BoE in August, would provide an disincentive for banks to hoard cash with the central bank, encouraging them to lend to the private sector.

King's statement fuelled speculation the BoE may use yet another device in its quantitative easing toolkit after increasing the amount of domestic assets it buys from the market to boost liquidity last month.

Elsewhere, the dollar rose 0.1 percent against a basket of major currencies <.DXY> while it rose 0.3 percent to 91.17 yen , having hit a seven-month low on Monday.

The September bund future fell 25 ticks.

(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson and Naomi Tajitsu; editing by Chris Pizzey)