GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar, oil gains ahead of Fed's June minutes

* Euro gains slightly, just off near two-year low vs dollar

* Wall Street, European equities trade lower

* Treasury prices near break-even (Updates prices)

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. equity markets were mixed in lackluster trading o n W ednesday but crude oil rose on the off-chance minutes of a policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve in June will provide hints of further asset buying to stoke U.S. economic growth.

The dollar rebounded, sending the euro to a fresh two-year low ahead of the release of minutes from the Fed's meeting last month.

The benchmark S&P 500 index traded near break-even, but the Dow and Nasdaq slipped, as investors awaited the release at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) of the Fed's minutes for insight on a possible third round of major bond purchases.

"The market will focus to see if the minutes contain phrases that acknowledge the growing weakness globally and how that is impacting the U.S.," said Jim Russell, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 24.52 points, or 0.19 percent, at 12,628.60. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.76 points, or 0.13 percent, at 1,343.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 15.69 points, or 0.54 percent, at 2,886.64.

Equity markets in Europe declined as concerns over the region's sluggish response to the euro zone debt crisis sent 10-year German bond yields to new lows.

European equities steadied, with a weak start to the second-quarter reporting season from the autos and luxury sectors denting sentiment, but technical support levels put a lid on losses in thin and jittery summer trading.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European companies traded flat at 1,039.12.

The dollar rebounded and was up against a basket of major trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index up 0.05 percent at 83.44.

The euro was down 0.05 percent at $1.2243.

U.S. government debt prices were down as worries about the European debt crisis and a slowing U.S. economy pinned benchmark yields near 5-1/2 week lows ahead of an auction of 10-year notes.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 3/32 in price to yield 1.5116 percent.

The Fed minutes "will be eagerly awaited by market participants for clues regarding the outlook for monetary policy," said Eric Theoret, currency strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto. "Clues regarding the outlook will arise from the discussion of other, more active measures that some of the more dovish activist policymakers may have sought to pursue."

Germany sold just over 4 billion euros of 10-year government bonds o n W ednesday at record low yields, with demand solid due to concerns that the recently agreed anti-crisis measures may not be powerful enough to overcome the euro zone debt crisis.

Yields on 10-year German debt in the secondary market were lower at 1.275 percent, off the average auction result of 1.31 percent.

Brent crude oil, which fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday, was back above $99 a barrel after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which produces one-third of global oil, left its 2012 world oil demand growth forecast unchanged at 0.9 million barrels per day.

Traders were awaiting the release of U.S. inventory data that is expected to show crude stocks shrinking for a third week in the world's largest oil consumer.

Brent crude for August delivery rose $2.15 to $100.12 a barrel. U.S. crude was up $2.35 at $86.26 a barrel.

Spot gold prices rose $13.00 to $1,577.50 an ounce.

The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities was up 2.24 points at 290.88.