* Global shares fall on fresh signs of economic weakness
* Yen, dollar gain as weak U.S. data stoke risk-aversion
* Oil slides, pressured by gloomy data about U.S. economy
* Bond yields mostly lower after more gloomy economic data (Recasts with U.S. markets, changes dateline; previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Further evidence of worldwide economic weakness pushed oil prices and global shares lower on Thursday, while concerns about the amount of debt needed for government stimulus plans weighed on U.S. and euro zone bonds.
The yen and dollar rose as grim economic data in Europe and the United States kept investors wary of risk even as governments pursued plans to boost growth. For more details, see [ID:nN29284207]
Oil fell below $42 a barrel, pressured by the gloomy economic data. [ID:nSP148153]
Dismal earnings from U.S. companies including Allstate Corp and results in Europe from drugmaker AstraZeneca's also weighed on world equity markets that had rallied the previous three sessions.
The inability of stocks to sustain a rally puts in jeopardy the market's attempt to avoid a loss for the month of January, which is often viewed as a harbinger for the year. The benchmark S&P 500 index is down more than 5 percent so far this year.
Allstate shed 20 percent after the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer posted a hefty loss on soured investments. [ID:nN28545756]. Allstate helped drag the S&P financial index down more than 5 percent and halted this week's relief rally for banks.
Worries that President Barack Obama's $825 billion stimulus package could face a bumpy road also weighed on sentiment after the U.S. House of Representatives passed it late Wednesday even though every Republican who voted opposed the measure.
The Senate will begin debate next week. [ID:nLT460265].
About 1 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 162.64 points, or 1.94 percent, at 8,212.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 21.09 points, or 2.41 percent, at 853.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 36.50 points, or 2.34 percent, at 1,521.84.
The failing health of the U.S. economy took center stage with news that unemployment was at a record peak in January and orders for pricey items such as appliances and computers falling for a fifth straight month in December.[ID:nN29272638]
Other data also showed the U.S. economy in steep decline, with sales of new single-family homes at their lowest levels since records started in 1963.
"All the data through December is reflecting the credit shock that occurred through the fall, and it is indicative of an economy that is contracting at a very rapid pace," said Michael Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut.
European data also was grim. German unemployment rose nearly twice as much as expected in January in the biggest increase in almost four years, a sign that Europe's largest economy is in a deep recession. [ID:nLT496491]
Euro zone economic sentiment hit record lows in January and inflation expectations fell, data showed, boosting the case for the European Central Bank to cut rates more. [ID:nLT23481]
The ECB has not ruled out cutting rates to a record low or employing "non standard" tactics to fight the economic crisis, President Jean-Claude Trichet said. [ID:nLT740817]
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 1.8 percent to close at 796.49.
"Economic data continues to disappoint," said Georgina Taylor, equity strategist at Legal & General Investment Management. "Some people see it stabilizing, but we don't see that."
European shares fell broadly, with only two of the pan-European index's 38 sectors posting gains.
AstraZeneca fell 6.3 percent after the drugmaker reported lower fourth-quarter profits, announced 6,000 job cuts and issued a cautious 2009 sales outlook.
U.S. government debt prices fell. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped 20/32 in price to yield 2.74 percent. The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond shed 49/32 in price to yield 3.49 percent.
The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index up 0.78 percent at 85.247. Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.72 percent at 89.73.
The euro fell 1.28 percent at $1.2967.
U.S. light sweet crude oil fell 36 cents to $41.80 a barrel.
Spot gold prices rose $11.20 to $896.35 an ounce.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan pushed up 1.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.6 percent. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr, John Parry, Steven C. Johnson in New York; Lucia Mutikani in Washington; Brian Gorman and Joe Brock, Ian Chua in London; Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; James Mackenzie in Paris; writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by Kenneth Barry)