China, Greece concerns a drag on European, U.S. stocks

By Sinead Carew

NEW YORK (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday on weak economic data out of China and uncertainty about Greece's debt negotiations while U.S. stocks were little changed after falling early in the session.

China reported inflation data that suggested the world's second-biggest economy was still struggling, even though Beijing is expected to add more policy stimulus.

On top of this, concerns about a lack of progress in talks between Greece and its creditors weighed on shares, according to Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

European Union officials on Tuesday swiftly dismissed new Greek promises of economic reform, saying the proposals were not enough to unlock funds that Athens urgently needs to avoid defaulting on its debts.

On its sixth straight day of losses, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.5 percent, making for its lowest level since Feb 19. The MSCI all world stock index was up 0.04 percent.

At 11:42 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones industrial average rose 27.36 points, or 0.15 percent, to 17,793.91, the S&P 500 gained 3.34 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,082.62 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 9.27 points, or 0.18 percent, to 5,012.36.

Many of the top losers on Nasdaq were healthcare companies and Nasdaq's Biotechnology index was down 0.83 percent, weaker than the overall index's decline.

U.S. Treasuries yields rose, with benchmark yields hovering near seven-month highs ahead of a $14 billion auction of three-year notes, part of this week's $58 billion in government debt supply.

"The theme du jour is supply which is expected to accelerate this week," said Ed Atkins, Treasury strategist at RBS Securities in Stamford, Connecticut.

The euro was last down 0.2 percent at $1.1271.

The U.S. dollar fell 0.11 percent against a basket of currencies. Some investors were still discussing a Monday report that President Barack Obama had expressed concern about the greenback's strength even after he denied he had made the comments.

Attractive bond yields in Europe also appeared to be hurting the U.S. currency, OakBrook's Jankovskis said.

"Now European bond yields have risen substantially over the last few weeks there are people attracted to those higher yields moving investments to Europe," he said.

German 10-year Bund yields rose on Tuesday as a seven-week selloff in bond markets, driven partly by improving growth and inflation expectations, resumed after a brief pause.

Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei index suffered its biggest fall in nearly a month, down 1.8 percent after the China data and on worries about a U.S. interest rate hike and the uncertainty over Greece.

MSCI's main index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.8 percent to a fresh 10-week low.

Chinese shares eased after the soft inflation data. The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 0.7 percent.

Oil prices rose as higher seasonal demand in developed countries and expectations of falling U.S. shale production reduced concerns about global crude supply.

Brent crude was up $1.95 a barrel or 3.1 percent at $64.65, and U.S. crude was up $1.79 or 3 percent at $59.94.

(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag, Atul Prakash, Alistair Smout in London, and by Wayne Cole in Sydney, Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Catherine Evans and Meredith Mazzilli)