World stocks, copper and oil hit by weak China exports

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock indexes fell and the prices of copper and oil sank on Monday after surprisingly weak Chinese trade data added to worries about a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

China's exports unexpectedly tumbled in February, falling 18.1 percent from a year earlier and swinging the trade balance into deficit. The data underscored recent concerns about the outlook for China's economy, even though the Lunar New Year holidays were blamed for the slide.

The data put a dampener on risk sentiment, which had been boosted briefly by Friday's stronger-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls report.

"The weak China trade balance data caused some flight to quality on less optimism about the global economy," said Jeffrey Young, interest rate strategist at Nomura in New York.

Prices on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries were last up 3/32 to yield 2.78 percent

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 63.71 points or 0.39 percent, to 16,389.01, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 4.44 points or 0.24 percent, to 1,873.6 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 9.796 points or 0.23 percent, to 4,326.427.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold lost 3.3 percent to $31.12 as the signs of a slowing Chinese economy sent London copper to an eight-month low. The S&P materials index <.SPLRCM> lost 0.4 percent

Despite weakness in Asian markets, a sense of relief in Europe that tensions between Russia and the West over Crimea had not escalated buoyed shares in early trading, though there was no escape from the undercurrent of unease.

European shares <.FTEU3> were down 0.4 percent, hit by declines in shares of mining companies sensitive to China's ferocious appetite for raw materials. A global stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> was down 0.5 percent and an emerging market stock index <.MSCIEF> was down 1.2 percent.

"Any poor news from China is always going to hit short-term market sentiment, especially in the mining sector, and fears of slower growth will hit base metals," said IPR Capital director Steven Mayne.

German steel maker ThyssenKrupp , down 3.1 percent, was among the top losers in Europe as Chinese steel and iron ore futures slumped to their lowest levels ever on concerns about a slowdown in China, the world's top commodity buyer.

China's CSI300 share index <.CSI300> plunged 3.3 percent to its lowest level in nearly nine months.

Chinese gloom added to the strain in emerging markets, compounding worries that the U.S. Federal Reserve's reduction in stimulus will greatly curb the flow of money,

DOLLAR STEADY

The dollar held steady against major currencies, supported by hopes that U.S. job growth would pick up in the wake of last week's mildly encouraging report on hiring. The dollar index <.DXY> was little changed at 79.743.

The commodity-sensitive Australian and Canadian dollars also suffered, both losing as much as half a percent against the greenback in the wake of the plunge in exports from China. The Aussie traded 0.4 percent lower at $0.9031, while the loonie was down 0.2 percent at $1.1104.

London copper hit an eight-month low. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 traded down 1.36 percent to $6,690 a ton in official midday rings. It earlier slid as low as $6,608 a metric ton (7284.1 ton), its weakest level since June 25 and within a whisker off nearly three-year lows.

Brent crude was trading 97 cents down at $108.03. U.S. oil fell $1.33 to $101.25 a barrel.

(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson in Paris and Patrick Graham and Maytaal Angel in London; Editing by Leslie Adler)