GLOBAL MARKETS
* Shares fall after weak euro zone, China PMI data * Wall Street down at open * China flash PMI shows output shrank for 1st time in 6 months * Yen touches new 7-year low vs dollar (Recasts with U.S. opening; adds quotes; changes dateline; previous LONDON) By Michael Connor NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - World stock markets slipped on Thursday on signs the Chinese and European economies were slowing, while Japan's yen slid to a seven-year low against the dollar on expectations of more Japanese stimulus. The worries about global demand weighed on Wall Street, which opened lower, and fueled price gains in U.S. government debt. The MSCI index of world stocks was flat, while a gauge of European stocks slipped 0.3 percent. 'Slowing (purchasing managers indices) growth in China and the euro zone helped put risk appetite on the back foot,' said strategist Gennadiy Goldberg at TD Securities in New York. The China flash HSBC/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index showed factory output contracted in the world's second-biggest economy for the first time in six months. . In Europe, signs were just as gloomy as the private sector in Germany grew at its slowest pace in 16 months, and in France a slight pick-up was overshadowed by the fastest drop in new orders in more than a year. 'There has been a little bit of relief in markets recently, but I think this will create another round of fears that the euro zone is losing momentum,' said Emile Cardon, a euro zone strategist at Rabobank. With the data also raising pressure on the European Central Bank as it ponders possible asset-buying schemes, euro zone government bond yields kicked lower and the euro fell for the first time in three days. The yield on Germany's 10-year Bund fell to 0.8 percent. China's data pushed Asian stocks to a month low, and after Europe's dour figures, markets in London and Frankfurt were both down. Beaten down by the dollar again, the yen hit a seven-year low and slid to a six-year low against the euro despite the weak euro zone data. The euro last fetched $1.2530 , off an overnight three-week high of $1.2602. The yen last traded at 118.15 to the dollar. Wall Street's Dow Jones industrial average was down 3.00 points, or 0.02 percent, at 17,682.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.39 points, or 0.12 percent, at 2,051.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 14.87 points, or 0.32 percent, at 4,690.59. U.S. Treasury debt prices rose as investors sought safety in government bonds. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were up 1/32 in price to yield 2.34 percent from 2.36 percent late Wednesday. Brent oil rallied ahead of what is shaping up to be a landmark OPEC meeting next week. It was last at $79.02, up 92 cents. U.S. crude was up 74 cents at $75.32. (Reporting By Michael Connor in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler) 
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