* MSCI world stocks index down 0.3 pct,adding to huge losses
* FTSEurofirst 300 index hits lifetime low
* Dollar slips after 3-year high against major currencies
* Euro zone bonds weaker
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - World stocks took yet more
losses Tuesday, with Europe shares hitting a record low, a day
after most equity markets suffered a thorough battering at the
hands of investors fearful for the global financial system.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> was down around 1
percent, hitting a lifetime low. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei <>
ended down just shy of a 26-year.
MSCI's main world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> was down 0.2
percent on the day, after having tumbled 4.9 percent on Monday,
its worst performance since early December.
Global stocks have been pummelled this year by a left-right
combination of poor economic news and continuing travails within
banks and the global financial system in general.
The MSCI index is down more than 22 percent on the year so
far and has lost around 58 percent of its value since hitting an
all-time high in late 2007.
The Nikkei ended down 0.7 percent. The benchmark hovered
just short of a 26-year low amid worries about the U.S.
financial system. The broader Topix <> slipped 1.1 percent
to 726.80, its lowest close since December 1983.
Gargantuan losses on world stock markets, however, are
piquing the interest of investors who see value appearing and
the potential for at least a short-term reversal.
"Stocks do appear to be oversold at current levels, meaning
there is a possibility for a near-term and significant rally,"
Bob Doll, chief investment officer for global equities at
BlackRock, said in a note.
But he added: "The downside risks remain troubling."
WAIT AND SEE
The dollar weakened as traders bought the euro and other
relatively higher-yielding currencies after the Reserve Bank of
Australia unexpectedly left interest rates on hold.
But activity was subdued as investors took a wait-and-see
stance over the financial system and deepening global recession.
The dollar index <.DXY>, a gauge of its strength against a
basket of six other major currencies, hit a three-year high in
overnight trade as investors sought shelter in the world's most
liquid currency. It was down 0.5 percent on Tuesday.
The euro rose 0.4 percent from late U.S. trade to $1.2629
<EUR=>, recovering losses suffered in the wake of European Union
leaders' rejection of a mass bailout for eastern Europe, which
weighed on the single currency the previous day. []
Euro zone government bond yields pushed higher.
The interest rate-sensitive two-year Schatz yield <EU2YT=RR>
was up 2 basis points at 1.227 percent. It remained within
orbit of a euro lifetime low 1.15 percent struck on Feb. 18.
The 10-year Bund yield <EU10YT=RR> was up 3 basis points at
3.061 percent. Bond yields move inversely with prices.
(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson and Kirsten Donovan,
editing by Mike Peacock/Victoria Main)
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