* Global stocks hit two-year lows
* Glencore shares bounce in London after plunge in Hong Kong
* Biotechs fall in Europe but bounce in U.S.
* Platinum falls to lowest level since December 2008
(Adds U.S. market open, changes byline, dateline, previous
LONDON)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Global equity markets touched
a two-year low on Tuesday as the outlook for raw materials
prices and emerging markets remained soft, while U.S. biotech
shares attempted to stabilize after their recent selloff.
Commodity prices edged up but held near multi-year lows on
concern over an economic slowdown in major raw material consumer
China. U.S. stocks were higher after suffering their worst drop
in nearly a month in the prior session, boosted by the gains in
biotechs.
"A lot of traders are hoping that this is the end of the
pullback," said Gordon Charlop, a managing director at
Rosenblatt Securities in New York, of the move in equities.
"We'll have to see if this represents a session where things
start to turn around a little bit."
Mining and trading company Glencore GLEN.L , whose shares
fell by almost a third on Monday on investor concern over its
debt levels, bounced up 16.7 percent in London but only after
its Hong Kong-listed shares 0805.HK fell 29 percent.
Earlier, Asian shares slid to 3-1/2-year lows on China
slowdown concerns.
Copper CMCU3 steadied after hitting a one-month low. It
last traded at $4,977.50 a tonne, up 0.3 percent on the day but
within reach of a 6-1/2-year low below $4,855. ID:nL5N11Z20V
Platinum XPT= fell to a low of $894, its lowest since
December 2008, on fears that the emissions scandal embroiling
German carmaker Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) could hit demand from the auto
sector. It last stood at $908.25, down 0.7 percent.
ID:nL3N11Z2P3
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 was down
0.6 percent, having dropped 1.7 percent earlier with biotech
firms .SXDP leading the decline.
The sector .NBI reversed initial declines in the U.S.,
however, to show a gain of more than 3 percent as it looked to
snap a seven-day losing streak fueled by concerns over
government intervention in drug pricing.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS slid 1.8 percent, having earlier touched its
lowest levels since June 2012. MSCI's all-country share index
.MIWD00000PUS was down 0.3 percent after touching a two-year
low.
The flash reading of annual euro zone inflation is due on
Wednesday, with a Reuters poll forecasting a zero reading in
September. A slip into negative inflation would fuel speculation
about further European Central Bank stimulus, six months after
the euro zone's central bank launched a massive asset purchase
program.
Since the Federal Reserve kept U.S. interest rates on hold
on Sept. 17, markets have been puzzling over whether it will
hike before the end of 2015.
There were mixed messages from Fed officials on Monday and
investors will be looking to a speech from Fed Chair Janet
Yellen on Wednesday for more clarity, with a key U.S. payrolls
report also due on Friday. ID:nL1N11Y2L9
"There are a lot of balls juggling at the moment. When you
have uncertainty, investors become less confident and less
likely to make a stand and commit in a big way," Charlop said.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR rose 3/32 in price
to yield 2.0861 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 96.95 points,
or 0.61 percent, to 16,098.84, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.68
points, or 0.83 percent, to 1,897.45 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 45.12 points, or 0.99 percent, to 4,589.08.
Brent crude oil LCOc1 , which lost 2.6 percent on Monday,
rose 77 cents a barrel to $48.11 while U.S. crude gained 1.6
percent to $45.12 on signs of a tightening U.S. market, although
analysts said the outlook remained weak. ID:nL3N11Z1D6