(Updates with opening of U.S. markets; previous dateline London)
* MSCI world share index falls for third day
* Dollar at eight-week low vs yen, gold hits two-month high
* U.S. long-dated yields slump as soft U.S. data also weighs
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Stocks around the world fell sharply on Thursday and investors moved into the yen, gold and other safe-haven assets amid more aggressive talk between the United States and North Korea.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed 0.77 percent, on track for its third straight day of declines as it pulled further back from all-time highs.
The Japanese yen hit an eight-week high against the U.S. dollar, while spot gold also reached a two-month high.
North Korea said it was completing plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land near the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam in an unusually detailed threat that further heightened tensions with the United States. rise in geopolitical tensions this week, which heightened after U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned North Korea that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States, has drawn investor attention away from second-quarter corporate earnings season, which is winding down.
"The story today is North Korea and there was nothing in the earnings that was bullish enough to pull people away from focusing on North Korea," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 94.55 points, or 0.43 percent, to 21,954.15, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 19.51 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,454.51 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 76.39 points, or 1.2 percent, to 6,275.94. of U.S. department stores Kohl's KSS.N and Macy's M.N were weak after their results. pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 lost 1.19 percent. of staffing firm Adecco ADEN.S slumped 6.4 percent after its results. currencies, the yen strengthened 0.64 percent versus the greenback at 109.37 per dollar. yen is the big story really. Risk aversion is still very much a concern for markets," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist, at Scotiabank in Toronto.
The dollar index .DXY , which measures against a basket of currencies, fell 0.05 percent.
The dollar weakened after news that U.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in July, recording their biggest drop in nearly a year and pointing to a further moderation in inflation that could delay a Federal Reserve interest rate increase. Treasury long-dated yields dropped to six-week lows, pressured by U.S.-North Korea tensions and the weak data that further reduced expectations of an interest rate hike in December. 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 5/32 in price to yield 2.2255 percent, from 2.242 percent late on Wednesday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last rose 5/32 in price to yield 2.8107 percent, from 2.818 percent late on Wednesday.
In commodities, U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.67 percent to $49.23 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $52.58, down 0.23 percent on the day. gold XAU= added 0.7 percent to $1,285.70 an ounce. now, the uptrend is very much intact in gold, reacting to external geopolitical events," said Jonathan Butler, commodities analyst at Mitsubishi in London.
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http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Global assets in 2017
http://reut.rs/1WAiOSC Global bonds dashboard
http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0 Global market cap
http://reut.rs/2mcp7T1 Emerging markets in 2017
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
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