GLOBAL MARKETS-Global stocks fall as U.S. economy weighs

(Recasts with U.S. markets, adds byline; dateline previous LONDON)

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. and European stocks slid on Wednesday on new fears about more write-downs facing banks on both sides of the Atlantic and amid fresh signs that the U.S. economy has stalled and a housing slump continues.

European central bankers warned there was no end in sight to the global credit crunch.

U.S. Treasury debt prices rose and the dollar fell for a second session after an unexpected drop in durable goods orders heightened worries about the U.S. economy's health, raising expectations the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates further.

Oil jumped $4 a barrel after a U.S. government report showed larger-than-expected drops in fuel stocks in the United States, the world's top consumer. Gold hit a one-week high as the weak dollar and rising oil encouraged investors to venture back into metals.

Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) said the global credit crisis threatened its profit target for this year, and U.S. and European officials pointed to the U.S. housing market as the key to any economic and financial turnaround.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the turbulence that has gripped financial markets since last summer would probably last until the U.S. housing market cleared.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King was equally downbeat, saying the credit crunch had entered a new phase.