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* European shares fall, yen near 40-year lows

* Oil falls towards four-month lows

* Benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq headed for weekly loss

By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Global equity markets edged

lower on Friday and were set for a weekly decline, as continued

profit-taking drove a selloff in technology and chip stocks,

while crude oil prices slumped as more tankers left the Strait

of Hormuz.

On Wall Street, all three indexes were trading higher in

choppy trading as gains in healthcare and consumer discretionary

stocks offset losses in industrials, technology and energy.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, however, were on track for a

weekly loss while the Dow was headed for a weekly gain.

Chip stocks were down 4.5% and were set to shed 7%

for the week - the largest weekly decline since March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.31%, the S&P

500 gained 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite rose

0.24%.

"It's a combination of a needed and healthy period of

consolidation following the historic run since March and a

dramatic rotation from tech and everything else," said Mark

Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.

"Overall, the selloff is modest when put in context, and I

expect we resume higher once this period of consolidation

concludes since investors still have a buy-the-dip mentality and

fundamentals remain solid."

Price hikes announced by Apple ( AAPL ) had fuelled worries

about structural inflation from massive spending by AI giants

and limited availability of key tech components.

European stocks fell nearly 0.9%, with technology

stocks shedding 1.54%.

MSCI's index of Asian stocks outside Japan fell nearly 3%

. South Korea's KOSPI lost as much as

5.8%.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell

0.34% and was set for a 2% loss for the week.

OIL PRICES FALL SHARPLY

Crude prices plunged on easing supply concerns as more oil

tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz, even though a cargo vessel

was hit near Oman on Thursday.

Refining giant Saudi Aramco resumed oil loading on Friday at its

Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after a nearly four-month halt,

shipping data from LSEG showed.

Brent crude futures fell 4.24% to $72.07 per barrel.

YEN WEAKNESS

The yen teetered near its weakest level against

the dollar in 40 years at 161.62, beyond the 160 level that many

see as a line in the sand for Japanese authorities.

The euro was up 0.33% at $1.1407 but was set for a

second consecutive weekly loss against the dollar.

The dollar index eased but was headed for a second straight

weekly gain against peers. The index fell 0.3% to 101.20.

In bonds, benchmark Treasury yields were lower in Europe and

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

fell 1.75 basis points to 4.375% while the yield on

the benchmark German 10-year Bunds fell 0.76 basis

points to 2.852%.

Spot gold rose 1.5% to $4,086.29 an ounce.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Chizu

Nomiyama )