GLOBAL MARKETS-Stock indexes fall while gold and silver rise with oil

By Sinéad Carew and Marc Jones

NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - MSCI's global equities gauge fell with pressure from U.S. technology stocks while silver prices hit a record high and gold was angling for its seventh gain in a row on renewed hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts and after U.S. President Donald Trump's latest move in Venezuela created safe-haven demand.

Oil prices turned higher on Wednesday after Trump ordered a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela as Washington increased pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government by targeting its main source of income.

Elsewhere, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who reports have said will be interviewed by Trump later for the Fed chair job, said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank still has room to cut interest rates amid signs of job market weakness.

On Wall Street, technology stocks were causing the biggest drag on the latest fears of an artificial intelligence bubble as Oracle ORCL.N tumbled after a report said the cloud company's largest data-center partner Blue Owl Capital OWL.N said it will not back a $10 billion deal for its next facility.

On top of these worries, investors pushed U.S. Treasury yields higher as they waited for the latest inflation reading, due out on Thursday as they hope for more clues on the Fed's future rates policy. Traders have been struggling to assess the latest data, which has been showing a delayed and less clear picture of the U.S. economy after a 43-day federal government shutdown.

“The market really still lacks a data focus,” said Tom di Galoma, managing director at Mischler Financial Group, though “there seems to be a lot of scrutiny on it - whether or not it's the right data and whether or not it’s going to change drastically in the future.”

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR rose 1 basis point to 4.159%, from 4.149% late on Tuesday, while the 30-year bond US30YT=RR yield rose 0.8 basis points to 4.8313% from 4.823%. The 2-year note US2YT=RR yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, rose 2.3 basis points to 3.502%, from 3.479% late on Tuesday.

In stocks , at 11:57 a.m. Eastern time the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI had fallen 119.19 points, or 0.25%, to 47,995.07, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 56.85 points, or 0.83%, to 6,743.50 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was off 302.66 points, or 1.31%, to 22,809.54.

In currencies, sterling fell after an unexpected drop in UK inflation all but guaranteed the Bank of England would cut interest rates, while the dollar rose as markets awaited central bank decisions around the world and weighed Fed commentary. Sterling GBP= weakened 0.25% to $1.3387.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.14% to 98.35.

The Japanese yen JPY= weakened 0.56% against the greenback to 155.58 per dollar.

The euro EUR= was barely higher against the dollar with the European Central Bank in the spotlight on Thursday, when it is expected to keep rates steady. Investors are also betting Japan's central bank will hike rates on Friday.

Regaining some ground lost in the previous four sessions, oil rallied on Wednesday after Trump's Venezuelan blockade order raised some concerns about supply.

U.S. crude CLc1 rose 1.76% to $56.24 a barrel and Brent LCOc1 rose to $59.91 per barrel, up 1.68% on the day.

In precious metals, silver prices surpassed $66 an ounce for the first time while gold firmed, as hopes of rate cuts and escalating geopolitical tensions sent some investors into safer bets.

Spot silver XAG= was last up 4% at $66.35 while spot gold XAU= rose 0.65% to $4,331.59 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCc1 rose 0.66% to $4,332.70 an ounce.