* MSCI world equity index down 0.24 percent at 305.97
* Emerging market stocks at highest since June 2008
* Euro briefly hits 6-1/2 mth high; oil slips
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Equity markets in developed economies fell across the board on Monday as investors remained wary of an economic slowdown, while stocks in buoyant emerging market economies hit their highest since June 2008.
The euro briefly touched a 6-1/2 month high against the dollar after China pledged on Sunday to support a stable euro and not reduce its holdings of European government bonds. But the dollar later bounced back versus the euro and was up against a basket of currencies, pressuring oil prices and other dollar-priced commodities.
Extending a theme of the past few weeks, investors sought high-yielding assets in emerging economies as a sluggish recovery in some advanced economies, especially the United States, encourage central banks to keep borrowing costs low.
"On the one hand people are very nervous about the economy, but on the other hand you don't want to be too negative and too short either because you know that (Federal Reserve Chairman Ben) Bernanke is there," said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets in Brussels.
"Eventually he will put more money once again into the system... But I see more risk to the downside for the market than the upside at the moment."
Developed market stocks fell 0.3 percent while emerging market stocks rose a third of a percent, hitting its highest in more than two years. MSCI world equity index and the Thomson Reuters global stock index fell around a quarter percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index lost two-thirds of a percent.
U.S. stock futures were down half a percent, indicating a weaker open on Wall Street later.
U.S. crude oil fell 0.8 percent to $80.93 a barrel.
The bund futures rose 48 ticks.
The dollar rose half a percent against a basket of major currencies, while the euro lost 0.9 percent to $1.3668, having risen above $1.3800 for the first time since mid-March.
The yen was steady at 83.23 per dollar ahead of a Bank of Japan monetary policy decision on Tuesday.
With developed economies set to inject more liquidity into the system, flows into emerging economies are likely to increase further, putting upward pressure on emerging currencies.
"This should be seen as another key element of the global rebalancing process, as one of the implicit aims of liquidity injections by the core G4 is surely to facilitate a weakening of their currencies," JP Morgan Asset Management said in a note to clients.
"In such an environment, policymakers' reactions in the developing world will likely be an important dynamic to monitor, as they have implications for the future path of global inflation."
Inflows into emerging market funds are already on track to set a record this year, according to latest data from EPFR Global.
Financial leaders gather for an International Monetary Fund meeting this week, and the concept of countries keeping their currencies weak for export gains is likely to be a hot topic. (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash)