* U.S. durable goods orders fall unexpectedly in August
* G20 to keep emergency economic supports in place
* MSCI world stock index down 0.5 pct on day
(Updates prices, adds U.S. durable goods data)
By Ian Chua
LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Global stocks fell to a 1-1/2
week low on Friday while the dollar rebounded against a basket
of major currencies as investors cut risky bets after U.S. data
showed an unexpected fall in new orders for durable goods.
U.S. stock futures fell on the data, foreshadowing a lower
start on Wall Street. The report came 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 essence, this is a bit of a reality check for people. It
means there is more to be done and we are not out of the woods
yet," said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel
Capital Research.com.
Ahead of the U.S. data, global stocks had struggled even
after the G20 vowed to continue to provide emergency economic
supports until a durable recovery is secured. []
Following a push to multi-month highs, stocks need a fresh
impetus for further upside, analysts said.
"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> fell
0.6 percent to a 1-1/2 week at 284.42. This week, it hit a near
one-year peak and is still up about 25 percent so far this year.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <> of top European shares
slipped 0.2 percent and Germany's DAX <> slid 0.5 percent.
"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 concerned had fuelled a selloff in commodity prices
this week, although they were mostly steadier on Friday. Copper
<MCU3=LX> was off a one-month low while U.S. crude <CLc1> held
just above an eight-week low of $65.05 a barrel.
Emerging shares <.MSCIEF>, which hit a 12-month high this
week, fell 0.4 percent.
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 rebounded against a basket
of major currencies with the dollar index <.DXY> climbing 0.1
percent after having spent most of the session in negative
territory.
It was still weaker against the yen, however, having earlier
fallen 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 outlook for the dollar still remained weak however.
"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.
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 3.1 basis points to 3.274
percent, while the U.S. equivalent <US10YT=RR> slipped a touch
to 3.376 percent.
(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Atul Prakash in
LONDON and Kevin Plumberg in HONG KONG; Editing by Andy Bruce)
