* World shares hit six-week low on Fed concerns

  * Home Depot, Best Buy shares rise after results

  * Futures: Dow up 3 pts, S& P up 0.5 pts, Nasdaq off 1.5 pts

  NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday following the longest losing streak for equities so far this year, with trader focus on retail shares as top names report earnings.

  * A gauge of global equity markets hit its lowest level in six weeks, tracking the S& P 500 index's Monday close, as unease about an expected cut in U.S. stimulus and related gains in bond yields left investors on edge.

  * Home Depot shares gained 3.2 percent in premarket trading after the world's largest home improvement chain raised its yearly outlook after posting a profit beat.

  * Shares of Best Buy rallied more than 12 percent in premarket trading after the world's largest consumer electronics chain reported a higher quarterly profit.

  * Retail stocks will be in focus as other names including Barnes and Noble and J.C. Penney also report earnings.

  * S& P 500 futures rose 0.5 point and were flat in fair value terms. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 3 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 1.5 points.

  * Urban Outfitters shares gained 8.5 percent premarket a day after the apparel retailer's quarterly profit beat market estimates.

  * China-based Trina Solar reported a smaller quarterly loss as it shipped more solar panels to newer markets such as Japan, China and India, and its shares rose 4.6 percent premarket.

HONG KONG, August 20 (Reuters) - China shares edged lower in choppy Tuesday trade, with gains in industrial and railway-related sectors offset by weakness in properties and securities.

  The Shanghai Composite Index ended down 0.6 percent at 2,072.59 points. The CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings fell 0.8 percent. Both veered between negative and positive territory during the session.

  Shares in Everbright Securities dropped the maximum 10 percent limit in Shanghai after trading resumed for the first time since Friday, when a glitch in the brokerage's trading system caused its accidental purchase of more than $1 billion of mainland shares. (Reporting by Yimou Lee and Donny Kwok Editing by Richard Borsuk)

* FTSE 100 down 1 percent

  * Miners extend falls after recent gains, metal price dip

  * Expected trimming of Fed stimulus knocks sentiment

  By Tricia Wright

  LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Britain's blue chip shares fell on Tuesday, led lower by heavyweight miners, while rising expectations for a scaling back of the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus programme continued to dampen investor sentiment.

  Mining stocks took most points off the blue-chip index. The sector fell 2.9 percent, extending falls on Monday, as declines in metals prices prompted investors to lock in profits on the sector, up around 15.5 percent from an early July trough.

  According to Thomson Reuters Datastream, the STOXX 600 Basic Resources index has seen its 12-month forward price/earnings ratio rise to about 12.2 times from around 9.4 times over that period.

  Glencore Xstrata shed 3.3 percent after it wrote down assets inherited from Xstrata by $7.7 billion as it posted a 9 percent drop in core profit. BHP Billiton missed forecasts with a 15 percent fall in second-half profit, sending its shares down 3.4 percent.

  The FTSE 100 was down 66.06 points, or 1 percent, at 6,399.67 points by 0732 GMT, ploughing through its 50-day moving average, at 6,454, on mounting expectations that the Fed will start scaling back stimulus as soon as next month.

  Traders said there was scope for volatility on the index going into September's Fed meeting. Minutes of the Fed's July meeting, due out on Wednesday, could give clues on whether it is ready to start trimming its asset purchases next month.

  " Investors (are running) for cover this morning as the markets price in high probability that the Fed will start to rein in their stimulus programme in September," Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at Interactive Investor, said.

  " On lighter volumes we could be in for some seriously choppy sessions going in to September as investors continue to speculate where the Fed will go from here."

  GFT Markets technical analyst Fawad Razaqzada said that the near-term path continues to be on the downside until the market manages to close above 6,640.

  He reckoned that the index was heading towards 6,400, previously resistance, followed by the 200-day moving average at 6,295. (Editing by Susan Fenton)

HONG KONG, August 20 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares suffered their worst day in nearly seven weeks on Tuesday as investors took profits on Chinese energy and power counters and funds broadly moved out of Asian markets.

  The Hang Seng Index closed down 2.2 percent at 21,970.29 in its fourth-straight daily loss, while the China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong fell 2.9 percent. For both, the day brought the biggest daily percentage loss since July 3.

  Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Co Ltd fell 8.4 percent after the Chinese medical devices producer said its Q2 net profit fell 28.5 percent. Shares of China Oilfield Services Ltd reached a five-year high and were up 5.4 percent after it posted a 33 percent rise in first-half profit, but the gain in Hong Kong was later trimmed to 1.8 percent.

* Asian stocks drop for 4th session, rests on key technical support

  * Fed minutes on Wednesday could provide clues to policy outlook

  * Dollar supported as yields on U.S. Treasuries around 2-year highs

  By Saikat Chatterjee

  HONG KONG, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Many Asian stocks slid on Tuesday, while yields on U.S. Treasuries held near two-year highs as investors positioned for the probability that the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin tapering stimulus as early as next month.

  MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell for the fourth consecutive session to 131.33 -- its lowest level since July 9.

  European markets were also looking weaker. Eurostoxx 50 futures were down 0.5 percent, DAX futures were down 0.6 percent, and CAC 40 futures were 0.6 percent lower.

  Japan's Nikkei led Asian stocks lower with the benchmark index down 2.7 percent, reflecting the exposure of many Japanese companies to India and Indonesia.

  Indonesia and Indian shares had yet another torrid session with stock markets down 4 and 1 percent respectively.

  Punching through the 200-day moving average, the MSCI-ex Japan broke a key technical support level, potentially signalling further declines for the index.

  The eventual withdrawal of cheap money by Western central banks has been the dominant theme for Asia's financial markets since late May, and emerging markets that have benefited from the Fed's easy policy are now feeling the pinch.

  The Indian rupee cratered to a record low of 63.30 per dollar on Monday, and Indonesia's rupiah and Brazil's real both skidded to four-year lows.

  The rupiah's pain was exacerbated by a 5 percent slide for local stocks after they logged a 5.6 percent tumble on Monday and traders said key support levels for currency could be broken soon.

  Analysts noted that the dollar's failure to rally broadly, despite sharp plunges in high-yielding currencies, suggested the market may already be positioning for a stimulus tapering.

  The dollar was largely steady against a basket of major currencies as 10-year U.S. Treasury yields marched overnight to two-year highs, offsetting fears of the impact of Fed stimulus reduction.

  Emering market volatility was also spurring demand for the yen, said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore. " The yen tends to attract buying when tensions in the market increase," he said.

  STOCK VALUATIONS AND COMMODITIES

  Chinese shares have risen 7 percent so far this month, and that bounce may have further to run especially with the release of China's HSBC flash PMI for August due on Thursday, which could confirm that the world's second-largest economy is picking up from an early-year trough.

  Chinese markets offer the best value on a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio compared to a 10-year median, according to Thomson Reuters data.

  Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts are overweight China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, and underweight Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, believing Asia-ex Japan offers attractive opportunities despite bearish investor positioning and interest.

  In commodities, copper prices to $7,264.75 per tonne, while gold eased to $1,361.66 per ounce, after snapping a three-day winning streak on Monday and moving away from a two-month high hit that session.

  Brent crude prices fell 0.5 percent to $109.36 a barrel, pressured by Fed fears but supported by the loss of Libya's oil exports as well as concerns that continuing unrest in Egypt could spread and interfere with supply.

TOKYO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average tumbled on Tuesday as concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve's plans to reduce its stimulus hammered companies heavily exposed to emerging markets such as Suzuki Motor Corp and Hino Motors Corp. The benchmark Nikkei fell 2.6 percent to 13,396.38, the biggest drop in two weeks, with traders citing an unwinding of hedge funds' cash positions in emerging markets as well as other risky assets such as Nikkei futures. The index touched 13,383.18, the lowest since June 28. The broader Topix shed 2.1 percent to 1,125.27.

* Libyan oil exports near lowest since 2011 civil war

  * Investors fear Egypt unrest could spread, affect supply

  * Goldman Sachs sees Brent rising to around $115 near term

  * Coming Up: Fed policy meeting minutes on Wednesday (Updates detail, comment paragraphs 1-4, 6-8, 11-12, 14-15)

  By Christopher Johnson

  LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil strengthened above $110 a barrel on Monday as the loss of Libyan oil exports tightened supply and violent unrest in Egypt stoked fears for exports from other oil producers in the Middle East and North Africa.

  Libya's oil production and exports have been crippled by violence and strikes, pushing exports to the lowest level since the 2011 civil war, although the country's largest refinery has reinstated some oil product exports.

  Brent crude oil futures for October were up 10 cents at $110.50 a barrel by 0930 GMT. Brent hit a four-month high of $111.53 on Aug. 15 on concern that violence in Cairo could affect the Suez Canal, a major oil conduit.

  U.S. oil for September was down 20 cents to $107.26.

  " Bloodshed and unrest in Egypt and the disruption of oil supplies from Libya have put a floor under oil prices," said Carsten Fritsch, senior oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

  Egypt is not a major oil producer, but investors are wary that unrest there could spread through the Middle East, which pumps more than a third of the world's oil.

  Egypt is home to the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean (Sumed) pipeline, which together carry around 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from the Red Sea.

  The Egyptian army has said it will guarantee the safety of the Suez Canal and the Sumed pipeline, but any disruption to supplies could have a dramatic impact on the oil market.

  Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said security forces killed dozens of detained Islamists, upping the pressure in a crisis that has rocked the Arab world's most populous state.

  SUPPLY FEARS

  At least 850 people have died since Wednesday in clashes pitting the followers of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi against the army-backed government.

  Goldman Sachs said on Monday it expected tighter oil markets to propel Brent to $115 " in the very near term" .

  " The disruptions in Libyan oil supplies have lasted far longer than we initially thought with no near-term resolution in sight," Goldman analysts led by Jeffrey Currie said in a note.

  Easing some supply fears, crude flows resumed through a pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk oil fields to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Iraqi oil officials said on Sunday.

  Investors remained cautious as they awaited more clues on when the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, will start to trim a monetary stimulus programme that has helped bolster asset prices such as oil over the last three years.

  Minutes on Wednesday of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting will provide some clues to when it will start scaling back stimulus, which could boost the dollar.

  " Since the timing and magnitude of the Fed's tapering to its QE program (are) not yet known, market participants will be reading the FOMC minutes closely for implications regarding policy," said Jason Schenker, president and chief economist at Texas-based Prestige Economics.

  Some fears of supply disruption eased in the United States with BP Plc saying on Sunday it could start returning offshore workers to its deep water Gulf of Mexico oil and gas facilities after a tropical storm had dissipated.

  Gulf of Mexico oil production accounts for 23 percent of total U.S. crude output, according to U.S. government data. (Additional reporting by Jessica Jaganathan in Singapore editing by Keiron Henderson)

* FTSE 100 down 0.2 pct, still up 10 pct since start of 2013

  * Miners slip as price of copper eases

  * Glencore Xstrata hit by expectations of writedown

  * Expectations of Fed tapering also hit equities

  By Sudip Kar-Gupta

  LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark equity index edged lower on Monday on a decline in major mining stocks, while persistent concerns of a reduction in U.S. economic stimulus measures also hit sentiment.

  The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down by 0.2 percent, or 11.40 points lower, at 6,488.59 points in mid-session trade.

  A fall in mining stocks took the most points off the index.

  The FTSE 350 Mining Index shed 1.3 percent as the price of copper eased after three weeks of gains, while miner Glencore Xstrata also fell on expectations of a write-down on its assets.

  The mining index remains down by nearly 14 percent since the start of 2013 due to worries over the impact of signs of an economic slowdown in China, the world's biggest metals consumer.

  APS Alpha technical strategist Adrian Slack attributed the fall in mining stocks to investors booking profits on a recent rally in the sector back off lows hit earlier this year.

  " The miners have had a great rally, but they've gone up too far, too fast, and people are banking some profits," he said.

  The FTSE 100 raced to a 13-year high of 6,875.62 points in late May but has since slipped back, tracking a fall in global equity markets due to expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may start to scale back economic stimulus measures next month.

  The Fed's monthly bond purchases, which had pushed down bond yields and led investors to seek better returns in equities, have driven much of the global equity rally this year.

  However, bond yields have risen over the last month due to growing expectations that the Fed may start to slow the pace of those bond purchases next month.

  The FTSE 100 is still up 10 percent since the start of 2013.

  EGR Broking managing director Kyri Kangellaris said now was a good time to sell out for a profit on that run up.

  " If you've got any profits on the table, take them off." (Additional reporting by David Brett Editing by Hugh Lawson)

(Updates prices, adds comment)

  * Jakarta share index falls 5.6 pct, wiping out 2013 gains

  * Rupiah touches lowest level since May 2009

  * Worsening current account deficit, inflation worry investors

  By Andjarsari Paramaditha

  JAKARTA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia's rupiah slid to its lowest level in four years on Monday, shares fell the most in 22 months and government bonds slumped on concerns over a much wider current-account deficit in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

  Indonesia's glow as an investor haven has started to look tarnished, with rapid growth slowing, the current account deficit widening sharply, while a recent jump in inflation and moves to slow expansion bank lending will likely cut domestic demand.

  Some economists said Indonesia increasingly faces the uncomfortable prospect of being lumped by investors together with fellow Asia giant, India, whose markets have been falling even sharper over worries about its economic management.

  " There is a risk that Indonesia could be like India, (with market risk) dominated by perception instead of economic fundamentals," Eric Alexander Sugandi, economist at Standard Chartered in Jakarta, said.

  At 0954 GMT, the rupiah was trading at 10,490 to the dollar, down just over 1 percent and its lowest level since May 2009. The rupiah has slid 8.2 percent this year. As it slides, the central bank has dug deep into its foreign-exchange reserves to defend it, stoking concerns in markets.

  The yield on 10-year notes rose to the highest since March 2011 though later eased back to 8.338 percent.

  The driving factor for both developments was late Friday's news that the current account deficit in the second quarter was worse than expected at $9.8 billion, one of the biggest on record.

  At the end of July, Indonesia's foreign-exchange reserves were $92.7 billion, down $12.4 billion from two months earlier and more than 25 percent below their August 2011 high, say economists at Credit Suisse.

  " Although the current level of reserves is still equivalent to a reasonably healthy 5.5 months of imports, the (central) bank can't continue to burn reserves at the current rate without the market worrying about a 'crisis' scenario unfolding," it said in a note to clients on Monday.

  The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) closed down 5.58 percent at 4,313.52, its biggest one-day fall since October 2011. That followed a 2.5 percent drop on Friday when foreign investors pulled almost $90 million from Indonesian stocks on fears over the impact a coming stimulus cut in the United States and tighter global liquidity would have.

  The plunge wiped out all the benchmark's gains since the start of the year.

  The biggest losses have been bank stocks. The finance sector index fell 3.81 percent on Friday after the central bank unveiled moves to contain bank lending, including trimming the maximum ratio for loans-to-deposits. On Monday, it plummeted another 6.34 percent.

  'NEW EQUILIBRIUM'

  Indonesian Finance Minister Chatib Basri said on Monday he was " not worried" by the rupiah weakness and predicted that the current account deficit, though it would remain into next year, would narrow.

  Late last month, Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said the currency had reached a " new equilibrium" , suggesting the central bank was comfortable with the weakening rupiah that helped exports as long as its fall was not too abrupt.

  The central bank also has said it did expect pressure on the current account to ease in the second half of the year.

  Indonesian government bonds have also been hit.

  " Bond yields have been quite volatile since last week, affected by the weakening rupiah and high inflation, coupled with rising treasury yields globally," said Handy Yunianto, head of fixed income research at Mandiri Sekuritas in Jakarta.

  A weaker global economy threatens to further cut into the exports of natural resources on which Indonesia's economy has long relied. At the same time, high inflation limits the prospects for domestic consumption to pick up much of the slack.

  The latest market reverses follow a fairly upbeat budget for next year, announced on Friday by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who forecast 2014 growth would rise to 6.4 percent next year and the inflation rate would slide back to 4.5 percent. (In July, the annual inflation rate spiked to 8.61 percent.)

  Most economists say growth this year will struggle to hit 6 percent, especially as the central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate in a bid to contain high inflation.

  But one Indonesian fund manager said he expected interest in buying shares will return if the index drops some more, reaching between 4,000 and 4,200.

  " Overall, the JCI is still valued at a slight premium to regional indices in term of P/E (price-earning) ratios. That's why investors are still waiting for cheaper prices to jump into the market," said Jemmy Paul, head of investment at Sucorinvest Asset Management. (Additional reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok, Adriana Nina Kusuma and Rieka Rahadiana in Jakarta and Jongwoo Cheon in Singapore Writing by Jonathan Thatcher Editing by Richard Borsuk)

HONG KONG, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares ended lower for the third straight session on Monday, with investors awaiting further direction from mainland markets and ahead of major corporate earnings later this month.

  The Hang Seng Index ended down 0.2 percent at 22,463.7 points, while the China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong edged down 0.2 percent on the day.

  Sinopec Corp, PetroChina Co Ltd, ZTE , China Resources Enterprises, and China Construction Bank Corporation are among those scheduled to announce earnings later this week.

  On Friday, mainland indexes unexpectedly soared after heavy buying by China Everbright Securities Co. The buying evaporated and the spike was later blamed on a trading-system glitch. Everbright has said it will not sell shares purchased as a result of the internal trading error until further notice.