* Wall Street, European stocks fall on disappointing data
* Reported China interest in Portugal bonds lifts euro
* Oil falls, erases gains; gold weakens from 3-week high
(Updates market action, changes dateline, previous London)
By Richard Leong
NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks and oil fell on Thursday due to disappointing economic data, while the euro hit a one-week peak versus the dollar, helped by a report on China's possible interest in "bailout" bonds for Portugal.
This encouraging development for the euro zone trimmed safe-haven demand for gold, pushing it down from a three-week high set on Wednesday.
Investor conviction to own stocks, commodities, and other risky assets remains fragile as the United States struggles to support growth and European policy-makers deal with the persistent debt problems of peripheral nations.
"Market sentiment is cautious. Right now the improvement (in U.S. growth) has paused. Europe is a visceral negative," said Mark Pawlak, market strategist with Keefe Bruyette & Woods in New York.
Wall Street stocks and the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> fell about 0.3 percent.
In its second estimate on U.S. economic performance, the government did not upwardly revised its first-quarter growth of 1.8 percent as forecast by economists. Adding to the latest batch of disappointing U.S. data was a surprise rise in weekly jobless claims. For more, see [ID:nN26233734]
These negative economic figures overshadowed a news report that suggests Asia is willing to help ease Europe's debt woes.
The Financial Times quoted the head of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) as saying China and other Asian investors were expected to buy a "strong proportion" of Portuguese bailout bonds when the euro zone's rescue fund starts auctioning them next month. See [ID:nL3E7GQ04U]
The euro rose 0.7 percent to $1.4149
However, investors remain concerned about the possibility of Greek debt restructuring, uncertainty over whether Greece will agree new austerity measures and the potential for contagion into the likes of Spain and Italy. [ID:nLDE74O1MZ]
"There are ongoing concerns about euro zone peripheral debt. We're not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, strategist at Charles Stanley.
Tokyo's Nikkei <.N225> closed 1.5 percent higher, following Tuesday's in U.S. and European equities.
In the oil market, U.S. crude oil
Spot gold was last bid at $1,515.19 an ounce, down from $1,523.30 in New York late on Wednesday. (Additional reporting by Natsuko Waki and Jessica Mortimer in London; Editing by Andrew Hay)