* Dollar broadly weaker, crude oil steadier after fall
* G20 to keep emergency economic supports in place
* MSCI world stock index down 0.2 pct on day
(Updates prices, adds Wall Street outlook)
By Ian Chua
LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Global stocks eased on Friday
despite a pledge by the Group of 20 countries to keep economic
stimulus in place for now, but the dollar fell broadly as
investors bet U.S. interest rates would remain low.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a firmer start on Wall Street,
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. []
In a draft statement released early on Friday, the G20 vowed
to continue to provide emergency economic supports until a
durable recovery is secured. []
But following a push to multi-month highs, analysts said
stocks needed a fresh impetus for further upside.
"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>
slipped 0.2 percent, but was off a 1-1/2 week low plumbed
earlier. This week, it hit a near one-year peak and is up about
25 percent so far this year.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <> of top European shares
edged up 0.1 percent and Germany's DAX <> was little
changed on the day.
"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 concern had knocked commodity prices lower this week,
although they were mostly steadier on Friday with copper
<MCU3=LX> recovering from a one-month low and U.S. crude <CLc1>
rebounding from an eight-week trough.
Emerging shares <.MSCIEF>, which hit a 12-month high this
week, were flat on the day.
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. []
DOLLAR SOFT, BONDS GAIN
In currency markets, the dollar slid against a basket of
major currencies. It fell to a 7-1/2 month low below 90 yen
<JPY=> 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 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.
Sterling remained an open target after Bank of England's
Mervyn King said on Thursday that a weak currency was helping
the domestic economy. After dropping 1.8 percent on Thursday,
the pound fell a further 0.3 percent to $1.6018 <GBP=>.
Underpinned by weakness in stocks, lower risk government
bond prices held firm, keeping yields under pressure.
The German 10-year government bond yield <EU10YT=RR>, the
euro zone's benchmark, slipped 2.2 basis points to 3.283
percent, while the U.S. equivalent <US10YT=RR> was little
changed at 3.381 percent.
(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Atul Prakash in
LONDON and Kevin Plumberg in HONG KONG; Editing by Ruth
Pitchford)
