* U.S. and European energy shares fall on oil price decline
* Oil prices hit more than two-week lows, U.S. stockpiles data weigh
* Investors remain focused on Friday U.S. jobs data
* Spot gold hits two-month low
* U.S. 2-year Treasury yields post biggest monthly rise since Nov. (Updates to close of U.S. markets)
By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. and European shares fell on Wednesday as a drop in oil prices weighed on energy stocks, while two-year U.S. Treasury yields ended August with the biggest monthly increase since November on growing expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.
Oil prices tumbled to more than two-week lows, with U.S. crude falling more than 3.5 percent, after government data showed a large weekly build in U.S. crude and distillate stockpiles and a smaller-than-expected draw in gasoline. weakness in oil prices drove declines in the S&P energy index .SPNY and the European STOXX 600 Oil and Gas sector .SXEP , both of which closed down 1.4 percent. focused, however, on U.S. non-farm payrolls data due on Friday, which could provide clues on the timing of the next Fed rate increase. showing the U.S. private sector added 177,000 jobs in August, compared with expectations of 175,000, boosted investors' optimism about Friday's numbers. are too focused on transitory events and that's what is causing these ups and downs in oil prices," said John Conlon, chief equity strategist at People's United Wealth Management.
Yields on U.S. two-year Treasuries US2YT=RR , which are more sensitive than longer-dated maturities to expectations about the timing of Fed rate increases, rose 14 basis points for August. 10-year Treasury US10YT=RR yields posted their biggest monthly increase in more than a year, of 12 basis points.
MSCI's all-country world equity index .MIWD00000PUS was last down 1.16 points, or 0.28 percent, at 416.61.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI ended down 53.42 points, or 0.29 percent, at 18,400.88. The S&P 500 .SPX closed down 5.17 points, or 0.24 percent, at 2,170.95. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC closed down 9.77 points, or 0.19 percent, at 5,213.22.
Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed down 0.36 percent, at 1,352.28.
The S&P 500 posted its first monthly decline, of just 0.1 percent, in six, while the FTSEurofirst 300 rose 0.4 percent, marking its second straightly monthly rise but dwarfed by July's 3.4 percent gain.
Brent crude LCOc1 settled down $1.33, or 2.75 percent, at $47.04 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 settled down $1.65, or 3.56 percent, at $44.70 a barrel. Prices still posted their biggest monthly rise since April, with Brent gaining 11 percent. only are we getting shocking builds, we're also being squeezed by the bullishness of the U.S. dollar," said Tariq Zahir, a trader in WTI timespreads at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York, on the declines in oil prices.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, hit a three-week high of 96.255 after the U.S. jobs data on Wednesday. While the index turned flat in afternoon trading, it was set for a gain of 0.5 percent for August. gold slid to a two-month low of $1,304.91 an ounce after the release of the U.S. private payrolls data. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled down 0.4 percent at $1,311.40.