GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks steady, gold tumbles as Kevin Warsh emerges as likely Fed pick

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(Updates throughout)

By Sophie Kiderlin and Gregor Stuart Hunter

LONDON/SINGAPORE, Jan 30 (Reuters) -

Global stocks were steady while the dollar and bond yields jumped on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he has firmed up his choice for the next Federal Reserve Chair, with reports pointing to Kevin Warsh as the likely pick. While Warsh, a former Fed governor, is seen as an ?advocate of lower interest rates, he is also considered to be one of the less radical choices among the various names that have been raised and is perhaps more cautious on heavy monetary stimulus than others.

The MSCI ?world index was last 0.08% higher as European shares rose in early trading, shrugging off a decline across Asia-Pacific stocks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was ?last 0.45% higher and was on track to end January up close to 3%.

S&P 500 e-mini futures slid ?0.7%, Nasdaq e-mini futures were off 0.9% ?and precious metals plunged after Reuters reported that Warsh had visited the White House for a meeting with Trump on Thursday, citing a source familiar with the matter.

MARKETS MULL PROSPECT OF WARSH LEADING FED

Bloomberg ?News also reported that the Trump administration was preparing to nominate Warsh as the ?next Fed chair.

Warsh "is on record as saying he prefers lower rates", said Damien Boey, a portfolio strategist at Wilson Asset Management in Sydney. "But the trade-off that he makes with lower rates is that he wants the Fed to have a smaller balance ?sheet."

"The markets are reacting as if thinking: 'What would the world look like ?with a smaller Fed ?balance sheet?'"

On the prediction market site Polymarket, the implied probability of contracts betting that Trump will nominate Warsh to lead the central bank surged to 94% from 35% earlier in the day.

However, even after Trump announces his pick to lead the Fed, not all uncertainty will ?necessarily be removed, said Sandra Horsfield, economist at Investec:

"We still have the question whether this will actually get through to full confirmation by the Senate anytime soon, given that there is still the stand-off between some of the members of the Senate over Fed independence questions and Powell's subpoena."

Horsfield noted that the broader backdrop still remains volatile, not least on Iran, while several key indicators are due in Europe.

The euro zone's big economies grew at a

modest but steady pace

last quarter as consumption and investments kicked into higher gear to offset low exports and uncertainty from erratic U.S. trade policy, national data showed.

Brent crude was ?last down 0.9% ?at $70.07 as oil markets weighed geopolitical risks, after Trump on Thursday signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and establishing a process to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba. Also on Thursday, Trump said he was planning to talk ?to Iran amid rising tensions.

CHINESE STOCKS SLIP BUT INDONESIA RALLIES

Overnight, Asian stocks were led lower by declines in China. MSCI's broadest gauge of equities outside of Japan was down 1.2% on the day, but remained on track for its best monthly performance in more than three years. Stocks in Jakarta rallied over 1% after the head of Indonesia's stock exchange resigned to take responsibility for a selloff triggered by a warning of a potential downgrade from MSCI. It was the country's biggest stock rout since the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures its strength against a basket of six currencies, was last up 0.3% at 96.507, reversing some recent weakness.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury ?bond was last up 4.6 basis points at 4.273%. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 84.6% probability that the U.S. central bank will hold steady on rates at its next meeting in March, slightly lower than the previous day's 87.5% chance, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. A faltering rebound for precious metals fell short after a choppy session on Thursday. Gold fell as ?much as 5.3% to $5,111.29 an ounce, while silver plunged over 10% to lows of $104.19.

Bitcoin was last down 2.2% at $82,546.07 and ether tumbled 2.8% to $2,737.06. (Editing by Kevin Liffey)