Global stocks and oil slide on recovery worries

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stocks slipped and oil prices retreated after hitting $60 a barrel on Tuesday as a rally in riskier assets lost steam on worries that expectations of a recovering economy might have been overdone.

Optimism was at cross currents among investors. The U.S. dollar fell to a four-month low, as currency markets focussed on positive news out of Europe, revising some appetite for risk, while gold was firmer, reflecting some discomfort with recent rallies in stocks and crude oil.

Oil prices hit $60 for the first time in six months, boosted in part by the weaker dollar and stock market gains.

U.S. Treasury debt prices erased losses and were flat to higher as a drop in stocks revived a bid for safe-haven U.S. government debt.

The euro extended gains against the dollar after a member of the European Central Bank Governing Council said there is no need for the ECB to expand its asset purchase program to other sorts of private debt.

Longer-dated euro zone government bonds came under selling pressure as gains by the euro, which broke through a seven-week high of $1.37, ebbed.

The euro was up 0.24 percent at $1.3606 at 1 p.m.

But a pullback in stocks dragged the benchmark S&P 500 below the psychologically important support level of 900 for the first time in a week.