(Updates prices with U.S. stock market close)

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Stocks fall as investors look for safer assets

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US Treasury yields drop, crude oil settles down >$1

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Nasdaq suffers biggest one-day pct loss since Sept 2022

By Sinéad Carew and Nell Mackenzie

NEW YORK/LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Stocks slumped

globally on Monday, while U.S. bond yields dropped as investor

worries about the potential economic slowdown were exacerbated

after President Donald Trump did not rule out a recession

resulting from his tariffs.

MSCI's global stock index fell more than 2% for its biggest

one-day drop since August while Nasdaq led Wall Street losses,

ending down 4% for its steepest percentage loss since Sept 2022.

Investors had started seeking safety as early as Sunday when

Trump in a Fox News interview talked about a "period of

transition" while declining to predict whether his tariffs on

China, Canada and Mexico would result in a U.S. recession.

Market strategists pointed to the comments as a key reason

for Monday's cautious mood among investors.

"The Trump administration seems a little more accepting of

the idea that they're OK with the market falling, and they're

potentially even OK with a recession in order to exact their

broader goals," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at

Baird in Louisville, Kentucky.

"I think that's a big wake-up call for Wall Street. There

had been a sense that President Trump kind of measured his

success on stock market performance. There was even somewhat of

a 'Trump put' so to speak. And I think we're seeing that's not

the case, so the market is starting to reflect that reality."

The S&P 500 fell 155.64 points, or 2.70%, to 5,614.56

for its lowest closing level since September and its biggest

daily percentage decline since December.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 727.90 points, or 4.00%,

to 17,468.32, for its lowest close since September also. The Dow

Jones Industrial Average fell 890.01 points, or 2.08%, to

41,911.71, for its lowest close since November 4, the day before

Trump's election as president.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell

19.37 points, or 2.27%, to 832.73 after touching its lowest

level since January 13.

Earlier, the pan-European STOXX 600 index had ended

down 1.29%.

In fixed income, yields fell with U.S. government bonds in

demand after the Trump interview cut into investor confidence.

"If the occupant in the White House is himself not terribly

optimistic about short-term growth expectations, why should the

market be optimistic about it?" said Will Compernolle, macro

strategist at FHN Financial.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in

step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve,

fell 10.4 basis points to 3.898%, from 4.002% late on Friday, on

track for their largest daily drop since September.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell

9.3 basis points to 4.225% while the 30-year bond

yield fell 6.9 basis points to 4.548%.

In currencies, investors looked for safety. Against the

Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.5% to 147.29.

However, the euro was down 0.06% at $1.0826 and

Sterling weakened 0.45% to $1.2862.

Oil prices sank as tariff uncertainty kept investors on edge

along with rising output from OPEC+ producers, although

potential sanctions on Iranian oil exports limited losses.

U.S. crude settled down 1.51% or $1.01 at $66.03 a

barrel while Brent settled at $69.28 per barrel, down

$1.08 or 1.53%.

Gold prices fell as profit-taking countered support from

safe-haven demand fueled by geopolitical uncertainty, with focus

also on the U.S. inflation data later this week.

Spot gold fell 0.86% to $2,885.63 an ounce. U.S. gold

futures fell 0.76% to $2,882.70 an ounce. Copper

declined 1.25% to $9,493.00 a tonne.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 4.88% to $79,028.58

after touching its lowest level since November.