* THAWorld stocks hold steady ahead of Fed's policy review
* Tech comes under pressure after Facebook data woes
* Europe's STOXX 600 dips
* Concerns over U.S. protectionism undermines sentiment
By Kit Rees
LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Global equities trod water on Tuesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting, while investors reassessed their views of tech stocks following a slump in Facebook's shares after reports of data misuse.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks shares in 47 countries, was flat in percentage terms by 0901 GMT, while the pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX equity index slipped 0.1 percent.
Tech .SX8P stocks underperformed in Europe as the sector fell 0.3 percent, taking its cue from Monday's falls for U.S. peers on the back of fears of stiffer regulation as Facebook came under fire following reports it allowed improper access to user data.
Shares in European chipmakers in particular came under pressure, with ams AMS.S , STMicroelectronics STM.MI and ASML ASML.AS all in negative territory, while Germany's SAP SAPG.DE declined 0.5 percent, hit by readacross from U.S. business software peer Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL), whose quarterly revenue missed analysts' estimates. the U.S., Facebook FB.O tumbled 6.8 percent on Monday as the social media colossus faced demands for action from U.S. and European lawmakers following reports that a consultancy that worked on President Donald Trump's election campaign may have improperly gained improper access to data on 50 million Facebook users. an accident involving an Uber Technologies Inc UBER.UL car on Monday which resulted in the first fatality involving a fully autonomous vehicle further weighed on sentiment around tech. certainly are some stocks where valuations look somewhat stretched ... so we're focusing our exposure within the technology sector on the cheaper end of the market," Mike Bell, global market strategist at JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Asset Management, said.
"We're a bit more cautious on the more expensive and some of the more popular names in the sector," Bell added.
Though tech was a weight, Asian shares recovered to end in positive territory thanks to a rise in health stocks.
The UK's FTSE 100 .FTSE index slightly outperformed the broader European market, up 0.1 percent, as investors cheered a transition deal reached between Britain and the European Union on Monday. British pound GBP=D4 was last at $1.4055.
However, gains were muted as investors braced for new Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's first policy meeting starting later in the day and amid concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump could impose additional protectionist trade measures.
"Investors lightened their positions ahead of the Fed's policy meeting. The markets are completely split on whether the Fed will project three rate hikes this year or four," said Hiroaki Mino, senior strategist at Mizuho Securities.
In addition, worries about the potential for a trade war cast a shadow after U.S. President Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium.
The Trump administration is also expected to unveil up to $60 billion in new tariffs on Chinese imports by Friday, targeting technology, telecommunications and intellectual property, two officials briefed on the matter said Monday. businesses were alarmed with several large U.S. retail companies, including Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) Inc WMT.N and Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) TGT.N , on Monday urging Trump not to impose massive tariffs on goods imported from China. long-term U.S. bond yields were muted, short-dated yields rose ahead of an expected rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve after its two-day policy meeting starting on Tuesday.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.857 percent US10YT=RR , 10 basis points below the four-year high of 2.957 percent touched a month ago.
But the yield on two-year notes US2YT=RR hit a 9 1/2-year high of 2.32 percent on Monday as the Fed appears set to bump up its policy interest rates USFFTARGET= to 1.50-1.75 percent from the current 1.25-1.50 percent.
Still, with a Fed rate rise already fully priced in, the dollar barely gained from the prospect of a rate hike.
The euro EUR= moderated gains, rising to $1.2341 after bouncing on Monday following a Reuters report that European Central Bank officials were shifting their debate from bond purchases to the expected path of interest rates. yen was little changed at 106.37 per dollar JPY= , with traders wary of any new developments in a cronyism scandal that has eroded support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Oil prices edged slightly higher as investors remained wary of growing crude supply although tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran provided some support. O/R
Brent crude futures LCOc1 traded at $66.47 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1 were $62.66 a barrel.
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