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Europe's STOXX down 0.3%, U.S. futures dip on dour

earnings

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U.S. data due later in week could offer direction

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Yen hits seven-week high, rate hike in the balance

(Updates prices)

By Lawrence White

LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Stocks sagged worldwide on

Wednesday as earnings from Tesla, Alphabet and European luxury

brands disappointed, while oil prices traded near-six week lows

as summer demand failed to surge.

The U.S. dollar was broadly steady, with traders watching

out for an inflation reading on Friday and a Federal Reserve

meeting next week, while the yen surged to a seven-week high

ahead of a central bank meeting next week.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.34% to

513.72 points as of 1143 GMT. That was led by a 2% slump in the

personal and household goods sector after the world's

biggest luxury group LVMH reported slower sales growth

as Chinese shoppers rein in their spending.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

lost 0.32%, while Japan's Nikkei fell

1%.

The dour mood looked set to continue in the United States.

Nasdaq futures slid 1.1% and S&P 500 futures were 0.7%

lower after Tesla reported its lowest profit margin in

five years, and big tech stocks also fared poorly.

"The interim results season is kicking off on both sides of

the Atlantic and, so far, investors are underwhelmed by what

they have seen," said Steve Clayton, head of equity funds,

Hargreaves Lansdown.

Shares of Google-parent Alphabet slipped in

after-hours trade even as the firm beat revenue and profit

targets.

"Investors queried whether the vast sums being invested into

Google's AI capabilities were actually earning a return,"

Clayton said.

RATE CUT EXPECTATIONS

Subdued stock trading globally was symptomatic of markets

looking for direction, with traders digesting a range of themes

including the U.S. election, expectations of rate cuts and weak

corporate earnings reports.

Oil prices snapped three straight losing sessions on

Wednesday thanks to falling U.S. crude inventories and growing

supply risks from wildfires in Canada, but still sat near month

and-a-half lows amid lacklustre demand.

Brent crude futures for September rose 84 cents, or

1%, to $81.83 a barrel by 1147 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate

crude for September increased 93 cents, or 1.21%, to

$77.89 per barrel.

U.S. GDP data on Thursday and personal consumption

expenditure data - the Fed's favoured measure of inflation - on

Friday could help investors calibrate their expectations of when

interest rates might be cut.

Markets are pricing in 62 basis points of easing this year,

with a cut in September priced in at 95%, the CME FedWatch tool

showed.

A growing majority of economists in a Reuters poll said the

Fed would likely cut rates twice this year, in September and

December, as resilient U.S. consumer demand warrants a cautious

approach despite easing inflation.

"The U.S. consumer has remained extremely strong ... but

you're starting to see a degree of fragility underlying some of

the data," said Luke Browne, head of asset allocation for Asia

at Manulife Investment Management.

YEN RIDE

The yen spiked to its highest in seven weeks of

154.1 per dollar after surging nearly 1% on Tuesday, having

languished near a 38-year low of 161.96 at the start of the

month.

Traders are focused on a Bank of Japan meeting next week,

where a 10 basis point hike is priced at a 44% chance.

Traders suspect Tokyo intervened in the currency market in

early July to yank the yen higher, with estimates from BOJ data

indicating authorities may have spent roughly 6 trillion yen

($38 billion).

The suspected bouts of intervention have led speculators to

unwind popular and profitable carry trades, in which traders

borrow the yen at low rates to invest in dollar-priced assets

for a higher return.

The yen was higher against other currencies too, touching a

more than one-month highs against the pound and the

euro and a two-month high against the Australian

dollar.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency

against six peers, was little changed at 104.33. The index is

down 1.3% this month.

($1 = 155.3600 yen)