Global stocks waver on Trump agenda concerns, dollar gains

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of global equity markets was little changed on Thursday amid investor worries over U.S. government funding, but the U.S. dollar rebounded after recent weakness as central bankers convened for an annual policy summit at Jackson Hole in Wyoming.

Yields on U.S. Treasury debt rose in light trading as investors awaited speeches scheduled for Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

The annual central bankers' retreat comes amid fresh indications of global growth, with copper rising to a near three-year high on signs of stronger demand in top consumer China as inventories fell in London warehouses.

U.S. equities fell amid concerns over President Donald Trump's inability to usher legislation through Congress, said Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView Capital Management LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.

"Investors are reluctant to get too far out on their skis in terms of buying stocks," Meckler said. "Rallies are not extending the way they had when people had more confidence that the Trump agenda, particularly tax cuts, would be passed."

In a post on Twitter, Trump said Congress could have avoided a legislative "mess" if they had heeded his advice on raising the amount of money the government can borrow, known as the debt ceiling.

A late-September deadline looms for U.S. officials to raise the debt ceiling or risk defaulting on debt payments, leading investors to anticipate a volatile month, said Michael Purves, chief global strategist and head of equity derivatives research at Weeden & Co in Greenwich, Connecticut.

"Why would you rush to buy this dip with the debt ceiling looming?" Purves said.

MSCI's broad index of world stock markets see-sawed, rising 0.5 percent, but the FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading regional shares in Europe closed 0.22 percent higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.41 points, or 0.01 percent, to 21,814.5. The S&P 500 fell 2.08 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,441.96 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 8.66 points, or 0.14 percent, to 6,269.74.

The dollar rebounded, helped by better-than-expected U.S. initial jobless claims, which rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 for the week ended Aug 19.

The greenback has dropped 14 percent against the euro this year, driven by dashed expectations for tax cuts and other pro-growth plans by the Trump administration, which has weakened the case for further pro-dollar rises in U.S. interest rates.

The dollar index rose 0.05 percent, with the euro up 0.06 percent to $1.1812 while the Japanese yen weakened 0.27 percent at 109.36 per dollar.

German bond yields were pinned near eight-week lows. Demand for the country's top-rated debt was supported by expectations for a cautious message from the Jackson Hole summit, as well as Trump's threat on Tuesday to shut down the U.S. government if Congress failed to secure funding for his long-promised wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

German 10-year bond yields were a tad higher at 0.38 percent , having briefly touched a fresh eight-week low of 0.37 percent.

Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 4/32 in price to yield 2.1869 percent.

Spot gold was down 0.21 percent at $1,286.98 an ounce.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange closed 1.9 percent higher at $6,688 per tonne, having earlier touched $6,731.50, its highest since November 2014.

(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew, editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)