* Global stocks rally on U.S. home sales, euro zone data
* U.S. dollar slips on Fed comments, rally in stocks
* U.S. bonds little changed; gold hits new record high
* Oil rises on dollar weakness, signs of China demand
(Updates with close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Gold scaled a record high on a
weak dollar and global stocks jumped on Monday after
better-than-expected U.S. home sales data and rosy economic
news in the euro zone bolstered appetite for riskier assets.
The Dow surged to a 52-week high before paring gains as a
rally on Wall Street reversed most of the losses from a
three-day sell-off last week. For details, see:
[][]
Gold hit a record $1,173.50 an ounce as the slumping U.S.
dollar boosted gold purchases as a hedge against depreciation
of paper currencies and future inflation. []
Oil prices neared $80 a barrel, before paring gains to
settle up 9 cents at $77.56 a barrel, boosted by the sagging
dollar and signs of buoyant demand from China, the world's
second-largest energy consumer.[]
The dollar slid after a Federal Reserve official affirmed
expectations that U.S. interest rates would stay low for some
time and data showing that sales of previously owned U.S. home
rose to a more than 2-1/2-year high dampened the currency's
safe-haven appeal. []
Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped in October from
the previous month a record 10.1 percent, as buyers rushed to
take advantage of a popular tax credit for first-time buyers
that had been scheduled to end in November, the National
Association of Realtors said. []
"The great bulk of the evidence says there's definitely
been a recovery going on in housing and today certainly adds to
that," said Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at Wells
Capital Management.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 132.71
points, or 1.29 percent, to 10,450.87. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 14.85 points, or 1.36 percent, to
1,106.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 29.97
points, or 1.40 percent, to 2,176.01.
Advancing shares outpaced decliners by more than
three-to-one on the New York Stock Exchange, and 188 shares --
of 3,114 traded -- hit 52-week highs. NYSE volume, however, was
a little more than half the daily average.
European shares also surged, posting their biggest one-day
percentage gain in more than five weeks.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
rose 2.1 percent to close at 1,023.49 points.
The euro zone's dominant service sector grew at its fastest
pace in two years in November, suggesting a recovery will
continue in the fourth quarter, albeit at a slower rate, a key
survey showed. []
U.S. Treasury debt prices were little changed as investors
poured into risker assets, and after a decent reception for $44
billion of two-year notes. []
Despite $118 billion of new Treasuries hitting the market
this week and rising stock prices, demand for the safety of
U.S. government debt has limited losses as traders seek to lock
in gains for the year.
"This is an indication of the wall of cash that's being put
to work in all asset classes, including the front end of the
Treasury curve," said Michael Pond, a Treasury strategist at
Barclays Capital.
"We do think that yields should have gone higher given what
equities and the data did but we recognize there's just a slew
of cash in the market," Pond said.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Sunday said the
U.S. central bank should keep alive its mortgage-related assets
purchase program beyond a planned end date to help stimulate
the economy. [].
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
3/32 in price to yield 3.36 percent. The 2-year U.S. Treasury
note <US2YT=RR> was down 1/32 in price to yield 0.74 percent.
U.S. crude settled higher at $77.56 a barrel, as concerns
about weak demand and high inventories pushed crude off earlier
highs of $79.92 a barrel. London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 26
cents to settle at $77.46 a barrel.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> rose 62 cents to $78.09 a
barrel.
The dollar was down against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 0.71 percent at 75.116.
The euro <EUR=> was up 0.71 percent at $1.4966, and against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.06 percent at 88.96.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $15.30 to $1164.80 an ounce.
The precious metal has rallied to a series of record highs
since news that India bought 200 tonnes of gold from the
International Monetary Fund broke in early November. Since then
a number of other central banks have announced they are buying
gold as well.
"Gold has a lot of momentum. It is trading off the back of
the dollar, and at the moment it seems to be outperforming that
trade, as are a lot of other commodities," said Daniel Major,
an analyst at RBS Global Banking & Markets.
MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside of Japan
<.MSCIAPJ> rose 0.7 percent after Asian markets closed, and
then rose further, up 1.1 percent after midday in New York. The
Nikkei Index <> in Tokyo, however, fell 0.5 percent.
(Reporting by Ed Krudy, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Emily
Flitter and Frank Tang in New York; Ian Chua, David Sheppard,
Brian Gorman and Jan Harvey in London; writing by Herbert Lash;
Editing by Leslie Adler)
((herb.lash@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6019; Reuters
Messaging:
herb.lash.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available
for: * 3000 Xtra: visit
http://topnews.session.rservices.com
* BridgeStation: view story .134
For more information on Top News:
http://topnews.reuters.com))
(To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting; for the MacroScope
Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge
Fund Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub)
