* U.S. indexes drop, give up earlier gains
* Pan-European index edges down
* China stocks tumble 5 pct
* Oil prices extend slide, off more than 3 pct (Adds opening of U.S. markets, changes dateline; previous LONDON)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Global stock indexes fell on Monday, continuing a brutal start to 2016, as China's market tumbled again and the decline in oil prices worsened.
The main U.S. indexes gave up earlier gains in morning trading, which came after the S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow .DJI posted their worst five-day start to the year in history. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 was off 0.2 percent, also after rising earlier in the session.
Fears over China's economy contributed to last week's declines, and the main Shanghai stock indexes .SSEC .CSI300 each ended down more than 5 percent on Monday. Perceived missteps by China's authorities have stoked concerns in global markets that Beijing might lose its grip on economic policy, even as the No.2 economy looks set to post its slowest growth in 25 years.
"The Chinese situation sets the agenda right now in combination with oil prices," said Hans Peterson, global head of asset allocation at SEB investment management.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 30.75 points, or 0.19 percent, at 16,315.7, the S&P 500 .SPX shed 6.77 points, or 0.35 percent, to 1,915.26 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 25.97 points, or 0.56 percent, to 4,617.66.
Investors were looking to U.S. corporate earnings to help provide confidence, with Alcoa (N:AA) AA.N posting results later on Monday and major banks reporting later this week, despite expectations for a second quarter of overall declining earnings. mentality has been pretty negative and I don't see that changing this morning or today until there is more meat on the bones from a data standpoint," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.
MSCI's broadest gauge of stocks globally .MIWD00000PUS slipped 0.6 percent, after registering its biggest weekly decline in more than four years.
Oil prices plummeted to 12-year lows, with U.S. crude futures falling to the lowest since late 2003, as traders cited fears over slowing demand in China and a growing inventory glut. crude prices fell 4.3 percent to $31.72 a barrel, while benchmark Brent dropped 5 percent to $31.83 a barrel.
"China has torpedoed the hopes of the optimists," David Hufton, of oil brokers PVM Oil Associates, said in a note.
Still, U.S. Treasury yields inched higher as concerns over global growth eased, leading traders to sell some safe-haven U.S. government debt.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR were down 5/32 in price to yield 2.1472 percent, from 2.131 percent late on Friday.
"Last week, Treasuries rallied because Chinese stocks fell and today Chinese stocks fell, but we didn't rally, suggesting the panic from last week seems to have subsided," said Ian Lyngen, senior government bond strategist at CRT Capital in Stamford, Connecticut.
The U.S. dollar .DXY was up 0.2 percent against a basket of currencies, while the euro fell 0.7 percent against the dollar. improved risk sentiment was enough to cause the euro to lose some ground against the U.S. dollar," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.5 percent but still hovered at more than two-month highs. China's volatile markets
http://link.reuters.com/myh35w Currencies vs dollar
http://link.reuters.com/tak27s Oil prices
http://link.reuters.com/beb23v Commodities performance
http://link.reuters.com/rac73w
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>