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GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro slips on debt jitters, oil falls

Published 05/11/2011, 10:23 AM
Updated 05/11/2011, 10:28 AM
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* Euro down on Greek debt jitters

* Oil weaker on signs China's economy is cooling

* China industrial output growth eased in April

* Europe stocks up on earnings, Wall St stocks lower

(Updates with Wall St open, recasts, adds details, changes byline, dateline, previous LONDON)

By Leah Schnurr

NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Ongoing uncertainty about sovereign debt woes in the euro zone pushed the euro lower on Wednesday, while oil prices tumbled after data suggested China's economy is cooling.

Investors fretted over whether euro zone officials will give timely aid to debt-burdened Greece and Portugal, but European shares got a boost from upbeat corporate earnings.

Falling commodity prices pushed Wall Street stocks lower at the open though.

An IMF mission to strike-hit Athens on Wednesday will monitor progress on Greece's fiscal reforms and EU finance ministers will decide next week on further aid but financial markets are braced for some form of debt restructuring in the long run. [nLDE74A0SY]

Meanwhile, Portugal hopes its bailout plan will be approved on Monday and looked set for a green light from a key German parliamentary panel. [ID:nLDE74A16A]

The euro traded down 0.4 percent on the day against the U.S. dollar at $1.4344 but remained in its range of the past two days after last week's hefty falls.

Some poorer European nations "have never had their fiscal house in order," said John Doyle, strategist at Tempus Consulting in Washington. Investors "may have lost focus on that but it is now back in focus."

CHINA ECONOMY SLOWING?

Data out of China showed the country's industrial input growth eased much more than expected in April, reducing the need for further aggressive monetary policy tightening even as inflation remains stubbornly high. [ID:nL3E7GB0H2]

Despite robust demand for oil in China, investors turned their focus to signs the economy is cooling and benchmark Brent crude oil dropped $1.34 to $116.29 a barrel, after rebounding for two days from last week's tumble. U.S. crude fell $1.76 to $102.12 a barrel.

U.S. stocks opened lower with oil prices and earnings from Dow Jones industrial average component Walt Disney Co also disappointed.

"Disney earnings last night were below expectations," said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois.

"Oil prices are down and that is affecting energy stocks today," he said. "We're getting a pullback after three days of gains in the market."

Shortly after the open the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 49.65 points, or 0.39 percent, at 12,710.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 3.91 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1,353.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was off 0.71 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,871.18.

U.S. stocks have partially recovered in the past two days from four days of falls last week and remain near the three year highs seen in early May.

But European shares held onto gains as strong corporate results there offset euro zone jitters. The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> rose 0.2 percent.

World stocks as measured by the MSCI stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> turned negative in the early morning, losing 0.2 percent.

(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Nick Olivari in New York)

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