* Wall Street, global equities slip on China's bank moves
* Commodity currencies fall on banking reserve requirement
* Oil slips below $82 on milder weather forecast, China
* Bonds gain in flight to safety buying as stocks retreat
(Updates with U.S. markets, dateline previously LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Commodity prices and equity
markets around the world slid on Tuesday after China said it
would raise banks' reserve requirements in a move that could
dampen a nascent recovery from the worst global recession in
decades.
A disappointing start to the corporate earnings season in
the United States and a profit warning from Chevron Corp
<CVX.N> also hurt investor sentiment.
European equities retreated from a 15-month high to close
lower while U.S. stocks fell, after a six-day winning streak,
after Alcoa Inc. <AA.N>, the first major U.S. company to
release earnings, reported worse-than-expected results.
The People's Bank of China surprised markets with a
statement that next week it would raise the reserve requirement
ratio on banks in a move may dent Chinese demand and slow
global economic recovery. []
"The move is designed to control the excessive growth and
therefore seen as likely to impact demand and hamper recovery,"
said Jimmy Yates, head of equities at CMC Markets.
The sudden central bank move came earlier than investors
had expected and appeared prompted by concerns that a renewed
surge in bank lending was flooding the Chinese economy with too
much cash, risking overheating and a surge in inflation.
Concerns that banks and other financial services firms
could face fees from the U.S. government in a bid to recoup
losses tied to industry bailouts sent the Nasdaq and S&P 500
down by more than 1 percent. For details see: []
A senior U.S. official confirmed President Barack Obama is
considering a levy as part of the fiscal 2011 budget he will
unveil in February. Media reports said the fee could raise as
much as $120 billion.
"It's kind of changing the rules in the middle of the game
and that's causing investors to lock in some gains," said Alan
Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc in Toledo,
Ohio.
Shortly after midday, the Dow Jones industrial average
<> was down 72.63 points, or 0.68 percent, at 10,591.36.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 13.23 points,
or 1.15 percent, at 1,133.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index
<> was down 34.35 points, or 1.49 percent, at 2,278.06.
In Europe the FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 0.9 percent
lower at 1,053.93 points after rising to its highest in more
than 15 months in the previous session.
Commodity shares were among the top decliners, with BHP
Billiton, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and ENRC down 1.8 to
3.3 percent, on concerns that Chinese monetary tightening could
take some of the fizz out of the global economic recovery.
Commodity-linked currencies, including the Australian, New
Zealand and Canadian dollars, hit session lows against the U.S.
dollar, following a sell-off in gold prices. They also tumbled
against the yen. []
The dollar was down against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 0.12 percent at 76.914.
The euro <EUR=> was down 0.01 percent at $1.4511. Against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was down 1.30 percent at 90.88.
Industrial metals fell, with copper dropping to a one-week
low, while zinc and nickel dropped to their lowest in about
three weeks. Lead fell to its lowest since Dec. 31.
[]
"The general concern in the market is of monetary
tightening and the impact that could have on the speed of the
global economic recovery," said Gayle Berry, an analyst at
Barclays Capital.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index <.CRB> of commodity prices
was down 1.27 percent.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> fell $1.05 to $81.47 a
barrel.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> fell $8.10 to $1,144.50 an ounce.
U.S. Treasuries prices rallied as the stock market retreat
on disappointing corporate earnings revived the bid for
safe-haven U.S. government debt. []
"The next two to three weeks will be dominated by how the
stock market reacts to these earnings reports," said William
Sullivan, chief economist at JVB Financial Group in Boca Raton,
Florida. "If stocks retreat, investors will move to their
traditional safe-haven: U.S. government debt."
The developments in China and concerns about fiscal
problems in Greece reinforced the appetite for government debt,
said John Canavan, analyst at Stone & McCarthy Research
Associates in Princeton, New Jersey.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
25/32 in price to yield 3.72. percent.
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr, Vivianne Rodrigues and Ellen
Freilich in New York; Ian Chua, Alex Lawler, Atul Prakash,
David Brett, Jan Harvey in London; writing by Herbert Lash;
Editing by Leslie Adler)
