LONDON (Reuters) – Stock markets put in gains on Tuesday after a heavy session of losses the previous day, though the respite from worries over U.S. and European government debt looked only temporary.

The dollar slipped but remained near a six-week high against a basket of currencies, indicating that flows into traditionally safer U.S. assets were holding up.

Pressure also remained on debt from peripheral euro zone economies.

Focus will be on a Spanish auction of up to 3 billion euros of 3- and 6-month Treasury bills, where borrowing costs are expected to surge by around two percentage points, with no respite from the centre-right Popular Party’s emphatic election win on Sunday.

World stocks as measured by MSCI were up half a percent. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300. gained nearly 1 percent after a 3.3 percent loss on Monday.

It was viewed as a rebound from losses rather than any major turning point.

“This does not look like any weakness that one could buy into with a high degree of confidence,” said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, strategist at Charles Stanley.

LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) – Stock markets put in gains on Tuesday after a heavy session of losses the previous day, though the respite from worries over U.S. and European government debt looked only temporary.

The dollar slipped but remained near a six-week high against a basket of currencies, indicating that flows into traditionally safer U.S. assets were holding up.

Pressure also remained on debt from peripheral euro zone economies.

Focus will be on a Spanish auction of up to 3 billion euros of 3- and 6-month Treasury bills, where borrowing costs are expected to surge by around two percentage points, with no respite from the centre-right Popular Party’s emphatic election win on Sunday.

World stocks as measured by MSCI were up half a percent. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300. gained nearly 1 percent after a 3.3 percent loss on Monday.

It was viewed as a rebound from losses rather than any major turning point.

“This does not look like any weakness that one could buy into with a high degree of confidence,” said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, strategist at Charles Stanley.

LONDON (Reuters) – Worries about out-of-control government debt on both sides of the Atlantic swept across financial markets again on Monday, knocking stocks sharply lower and pushing up prices of bonds deemed to be safe havens.

As well as ongoing fears about Italy and other debt-strapped euro zone countries, attention was beginning to turn to the United States, where a bipartisan “super” committee looks set to miss a deficit reduction deadline.

“Europe is not the only one with debt problems … in the United States there’s a political gridlock,” said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities.

World stocks as measured by MSCI were down 0.9 percent for a more than 11.5 percent year-to-date loss. More volatile emerging market stocks lost 1.7 percent.

In Europe — the heart of the debt storm — the FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 1.8 percent, tumbling to a six-week low and sitting more than 16.5 percent lower for the year.

Japan’s Nikkei average fell to its lowest closing level since March 2009 as the U.S. debt worries added to existing ones about Europe.

In the United States, sources said the bipartisan deficit-reduction committee will announce that they failed to meet their deadline to find $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade.

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Worries about out-of-control government debt on both sides of the Atlantic swept across financial markets again on Monday, knocking stocks sharply lower and pushing up prices of bonds deemed to be safe havens.

As well as ongoing fears about Italy and other debt-strapped euro zone countries, attention was beginning to turn to the United States, where a bipartisan “super” committee looks set to miss a deficit reduction deadline.

“Europe is not the only one with debt problems … in the United States there’s a political gridlock,” said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities.

World stocks as measured by MSCI were down 0.9 percent for a more than 11.5 percent year-to-date loss. More volatile emerging market stocks lost 1.7 percent.

In Europe — the heart of the debt storm — the FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 1.8 percent, tumbling to a six-week low and sitting more than 16.5 percent lower for the year.

Japan’s Nikkei average fell to its lowest closing level since March 2009 as the U.S. debt worries added to existing ones about Europe.

In the United States, sources said the bipartisan deficit-reduction committee will announce that they failed to meet their deadline to find $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade.

LONDON (Reuters)- In some cultures, the number 7 is mystical and magical; in the euro zone, it’s a Mayday call.

Yields on the bonds of two of the currency bloc’s largest economies — Italy and Spain — were either at or within a whisker of 7 percent in the past week, creating huge concern about future funding and prompting a selloff in riskier assets.

Widely considered the level at which funding costs become too high to be sustainable, extended periods of 7 percent yields have previously prompted bailouts for Ireland and Portugal.

Italy and Spain are too big for this, particularly combined, so it is almost certain that the coming week will be dominated by investors watching to see whether this can reverse or at least be contained.

Weekly bond-buying data from the European Central Bank, released on Monday, will give some idea of how much the authorities had to fight to keep yields just where they were.

The European Commission also publishes its consultation paper on common euro zone bond issuance, something Germany strongly objects to.

With the end-of-month deadline approaching for the euro zone to produce firm plans for leveraging the EFSF bailout fund, markets will also be keenly watching central bank officials and bloc finance ministers.

LONDON (Reuters)- In some cultures, the number 7 is mystical and magical; in the euro zone, it’s a Mayday call.

Yields on the bonds of two of the currency bloc’s largest economies — Italy and Spain — were either at or within a whisker of 7 percent in the past week, creating huge concern about future funding and prompting a selloff in riskier assets.

Widely considered the level at which funding costs become too high to be sustainable, extended periods of 7 percent yields have previously prompted bailouts for Ireland and Portugal.

Italy and Spain are too big for this, particularly combined, so it is almost certain that the coming week will be dominated by investors watching to see whether this can reverse or at least be contained.

Weekly bond-buying data from the European Central Bank, released on Monday, will give some idea of how much the authorities had to fight to keep yields just where they were.

The European Commission also publishes its consultation paper on common euro zone bond issuance, something Germany strongly objects to.

With the end-of-month deadline approaching for the euro zone to produce firm plans for leveraging the EFSF bailout fund, markets will also be keenly watching central bank officials and bloc finance ministers.