* U.S. stocks slide after poor U.S. economic data
* Oil edges up, Iran tensions outweigh rising sentiment
* Dollar hits 7-1/2-month low vs yen, falls against euro
* Longer-dated bonds rise on rates view, economic data
(Updates with close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Global stocks slid on Friday
after disappointing U.S. economic data cast doubt on prospects
for a robust recovery, while the U.S. dollar sank to more than
a seven-month low under 90 yen, a key level.
The dollar fell after leaders from the Group of 20 meeting
in Pittsburgh pledged to continue emergency stimulus spending
until a recovery takes hold, suggesting U.S. interest rates
would remain very low. For more see [].
Long-dated U.S. Treasury and euro zone bond prices rose as
the weak data on U.S. durable goods orders and new home sales
fanned fears that the recovery from recession would be tepid.
The less-than-stellar economic data has diminished the
willingness of investors to plow money into risky assets in
light of the strong run-up many have enjoyed. The benchmark S&P
500 Index has gained almost 60 percent since early March.
The MSCI all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> of stocks
fell 0.62 percent, and all three major U.S. stock indexes
suffered their worst weekly decline since early July.
"The data on the health of the residential market and
durable goods do not support a quick recovery thesis," said
David Dietze, chief investment officer of Point View Financial
Services in Summit, New Jersey.
"We need to see some data points that are leading us in the
right direction," Dietze said.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed down 42.25
points, or 0.44 percent, at 9,665.19. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> was down 6.40 points, or 0.61 percent, at
1,044.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 16.69
points, or 0.79 percent, at 2,090.92.
The Nasdaq was slammed by a 17 percent slump in shares of
Research In Motion Ltd <RIMM.O><RIM.TO>, a day after the
BlackBerry maker reported second-quarter revenue that missed
estimates and gave a disappointing outlook. []
Crude oil rose slightly after tension around Iran's nuclear
program and improving U.S. consumer sentiment outweighed poor
U.S. economic indicators, which had pushed prices lower earlier
in the session.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> settled up 13 cents at $66.02 a
barrel. In London, Brent crude <LCOc1> settled at $65.11, up 29
cents.
Reports from the U.S. Commerce Department on durable goods
and home sales overshadowed a jump in the Reuters/University of
Michigan Surveys of Consumers sentiment index for September to
the highest since January 2008. []
Orders for U.S. manufactured goods dropped by the biggest
amount in seven months and a rise in new home sales fell short
of forecast, raising questions about the strength of the
economic recovery.
"The numbers are throwing some cold water ... investors are
now in doubt," said John Praveen, chief investment strategist
at Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC in Newark,
New Jersey.
The yen got a boost after Japanese Finance Minister
Hirohisa Fujii and an influential former finance official
suggested separately that authorities were not inclined to halt
the currency's rise. []
Analysts said repatriation of funds before Japan's fiscal
year hits the halfway mark on Sept. 30 also lifted the yen.
"The comments suggesting Japan is more comfortable with a
strong yen helped, but it's also a capital flow story with a
lot of money coming back at midyear," said Greg Salvaggio, vice
president of trading at Tempus Consulting in Washington.
The dollar was down against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> off 0.19 percent at 76.755.
The euro <EUR=> was up 0.09 percent at $1.4671, and against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was down 1.70 percent at 89.73.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
15/32 in price to yield 3.32 percent. The 30-year U.S. Treasury
bond <US30YT=RR> surged 1-9/32 in price to yield 4.10 percent.
European shares fell to a more than two-week closing low as
weaker financials outpaced gains in heavyweight energy stocks.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> of top European shares closed
0.35 percent lower at 983.91 in a choppy session.
Banks <.SX7P> were among the top European losers as the G20
leaders met for talks on possible tighter banking regulation.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> fell $4.35 to $989.40 an ounce.
Japan's Nikkei share average <> led declining equity
markets in Asia, falling 2.6 percent. The MSCI index of Asia
Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was largely
unchanged, not far from a 13-month high hit on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Steven C. Johnson and Burton
Frierson in New York and Dominic Lau in London; Writing by
Herbert Lash; Editing by James Dalgleish)
