GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks waver, dollar recovers on renewed growth worries

(Adds close of U.S. markets)

* Retail sales, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) earnings offset global slowdown

fears

* Dollar recovers as strong U.S. data soothes market nerves

* Oil extends big overnight drop on demand, supply pressures

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The dollar recovered from early

weakness but a gauge of world equity performance edged lower on

Thursday as concerns about global growth offset investor

optimism over a surge in U.S. retail sales last month and strong

Walmart earnings.

Gold prices, which have climbed almost 20% since late May on

uncertainty driven by the U.S.-Sino trade spat and global growth

concerns, rose after China threatened to retaliate against the

latest U.S. tariffs, renewing investor unease about the row.

China called on the United States to meet it halfway on a

potential trade deal as U.S. President Donald Trump said any

pact would have to be on America's terms. The yield on 30-year U.S. government debt fell to a record

low below 2% and benchmark 10-year Treasury notes dropped to a

three-year trough, beaten down by the U.S.-Chinese trade

tensions and economic growth concerns. Euro zone government bond yields went further into negative

territory, reflecting fear of an impending global recession

after the U.S. yield curve remained inverted for a second day.

The inversion is a classic sign of recession.

But Walmart Inc WMT.N reported strong second-quarter

results and raised its earnings expectations for the year, while

U.S. retail sales increased 0.7% last month after gaining 0.3%

in June, the Commerce Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales would

rise 0.3% in July. Walmart shares closed up 6.1% at $112.69.

Investors are caught between slowing global growth and its

impact on equity markets, with few alternatives to invest in

when the dividends of many stocks are higher than the interest

on government debt, said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane

Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey.

"When you get a story like Walmart, you see the glass is

half full because maybe it's not as bad as it seems. There are

still companies succeeding in this environment, and that's going

to cause the market to go back and forth," Meckler said.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed

0.14%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost

0.18%.

Stocks on Wall Street closed mixed after a day of choppy

trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 99.97 points,

or 0.39%, to 25,579.39. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 7 points, or

0.25%, to 2,847.6 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 7.32

points, or 0.09%, to 7,766.62.

The dollar recovered from early weakness against the

safe-haven yen on the better-than-expected U.S. retail sales.

The yen tends to benefit from geopolitical or financial stress

as Japan is the world's biggest creditor nation. The Japanese yen JPY= weakened 0.10% versus the greenback

at 106.02 per dollar. The dollar index .DXY rose 0.11%, with

the euro EURO= down 0.24% to $1.1111.

Oil prices fell more than 1%, extending the previous

session's 3% drop, pressured by mounting recession concerns and

a surprise boost in U.S. crude inventories. International benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 fell $1.25 to

settle at $58.23 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 settled down 76

cents to $54.47.

U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled up 0.2% at $1,531.20.

U.S. yield curve inversion Aug. 14 2019 Image https://tmsnrt.rs/2YQ1VhR

Yield curves flattening https://tmsnrt.rs/2N3HiaY

GRAPHIC-Global assets in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl

GRAPHIC-World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

GRAPHIC-MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j

Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA

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