* S&P 500 ends down 1.1 pct
* Brent falls 2.9 pct; U.S. crude oil settles down 3.7 pct
* Weak China data weighs on markets
* Investors await ECB announcement
(Updates with U.S. markets' closing levels)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - World stock markets declined
on Tuesday after weak data from China reignited concerns about a
slowing global economy and oil prices pulled back from recent
sharp gains.
China's February trade performance was worse than economists
expected, with exports tumbling the most in over six years, days
after leaders sought to reassure investors the outlook for the
world's second-largest economy remains solid.
"The data this morning has dampened sentiment more so than
anything else at this point in terms of confirming some of the
concerns regarding growth in China," said Ryan Larson, head of
U.S. equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management in Chicago.
Weighing on oil prices, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) suggested the recent
rally was unsustainable and analysts predicted U.S. stockpiles
reached record highs again last week.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $39.65 a barrel, down
$1.19, or 2.9 percent, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
futures CLc1 dropped $1.40, or 3.7 percent, to settle at
$36.50.
The declines came a day after Brent and U.S. crude settled
at their highest levels since December.
In the U.S. stock market, energy shares led the way lower.
The S&P energy index .SPNY dropped 4.1 percent, while shares
of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) XOM.N were off 2.2 percent at $82.63.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 109.85
points, or 0.64 percent, to 16,964.1, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
22.5 points, or 1.12 percent, to 1,979.26 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC dropped 59.43 points, or 1.26 percent, to
4,648.83.
U.S. stocks had sold off sharply at the start of the year
amid worries about weakness in China and its impact on the
global economy, but major indexes have retraced much of those
losses in recent weeks.
MSCI's all-country world stock index .MIWD00000PUS was
down 0.9 percent, while in Europe, the pan-regional FTSEurofirst
300 index .FTEU3 ended down 0.9 percent.
U.S. Treasury yields fell in line with Japanese yields after
the weak Chinese data, which increased demand for safe-haven
U.S. government debt.
The benchmark 10-year note US10YT=RR was last up 22/32 in
price to yield 1.829 percent, down from 1.904 percent late on
Monday.
The Treasury Department sold $24 billion of 3-year notes
US3YT=RR to surprisingly disappointing demand as investors had
expected the general flight to safety mood in the market to
drive more investors to the U.S. auction.
"Cheap outright levels weren't enough to bring in buyers,
said Aaron Kohli, an interest rate strategist at BMO Capital
Markets in New York.
In the foreign exchange market, news of deterioration in
China's trade balance stoked safe-haven demand for the yen.
The dollar was down 0.8 percent at 112.56 yen JPY= , while
the euro slipped 0.8 percent at 123.92 yen EURJPY= .
The euro's move was further limited ahead of a European
Central Bank policy meeting on Thursday, when traders expect the
bank to embark on more stimulus to support a wobbly euro zone
economy.
Investors are uncertain how far it will go. Euro bears are
cautious about positioning for bold action, having been badly
burned previously when the ECB disappointed by choosing to take
more modest easing steps.
Gold prices edged lower, with spot gold XAU= down 0.4
percent at $1,262.46 an ounce.