Global equities prices fell yesterday and oil slipped to near 27-month lows after a second day of weak data out of Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy.

Wall Street stocks fell ahead of this week’s start of third-quarter earnings season, with the surging dollar's effect on corporate bottom lines a key topic for conference calls.

A day after news of the biggest monthly drop in German industrial orders since the global financial crisis in 2009, data showed the country's industrial output plunged four per cent in August in the biggest fall in more than five years.

MSCI’ all-country world index of equity performance in 45 countries fell 0.48 per cent, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down 1.51 per cent.

US Treasury prices extended gains midday on the weak German data. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were last up 15/32 in price to yield 2.3713 per cent.

The dollar index slipped for a second consecutive session, but was still trading near four-year highs. The index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, was last down 0.18 per cent at 85.770.

Against the yen, the dollar was down 0.51 per cent at 108.22 yen.

The euro remained unchanged at $1.2652.

Stocks in London, Paris, Milan and Madrid took sharp tumbles too, while Italian, Spanish and French government bonds yields rose amid doubts about what a slowing Germany would mean for their more fragile economies.

Europe's troubles are occurring in tandem with weakened growth in other parts of the world. Apart from in the United States, indicators of global demand have slipped sharply over the past few months as unrest in Ukraine, the Middle East and parts of Asia have taken a toll.

The IMF cut its global economic growth forecast to 3.3 per cent this year and 3.8 per cent next year from forecasts in July of 3.4 and four per cent, respectively.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 134.77 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 16,857.14, the S&P 500 lost 12.52 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 1,952.3 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 30.35 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 4,424.45.

In contrast with the broader weakness in stocks, the mining sector got a rare boost as Rio Tinto shares jumped after it rejected a merger approach from smaller rival Glencore to create $160 billion industry giant.

Brent crude oil fell 0.6 per cent to $92.23 a barrel, not far from Monday’s low of $91.25, which was the lowest since June 2012.

US November crude was down 0.86 per cent at $89.56.