* Nasdaq bucks world trend and rises in off-market
* U.S. dollar rises as investors trim bearish bets
* Oil slides below $70 a barrel on signs demand still weak
* Long-dated bond prices slip ahead of Fed meeting
(Updates with close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose on
Monday, denting the price of commodities and raw materials
stocks, as doubts about the sustainability of the rally in
equities over the past few months unnerved investors.
The tech-rich Nasdaq rose, however, buoyed by a broker's
upgrade on the biotechnology sector. But the Dow and broad S&P
500 index slipped, while MSCI's all-country world stock index
<.MIWD00000PUS> was down 0.7 percent.
The dollar climbed against other major currencies, hitting
a near two-week high against the yen, as investors trimmed big
short positions ahead of this week's Federal Reserve monetary
policy meeting and a summit of leaders from the Group of 20
major and developing nations. For details see [].
Oil prices fell more than 3 percent to under $70 a barrel
on further signs of weak fuel demand, while gold fell to its
lowest in almost a week, both pressured by a rallying dollar.
[] []
"There are some thoughts in the markets that the (Federal
Open Market Committee) might announce that they're going to
start removing stimulus," said Chuck Butler, president of
Everbank World Markets in St. Louis. "That's why the dollar is
a little bit stronger."
The FOMC is widely expected to hold short-term benchmark
U.S. interest rates unchanged near zero at the conclusion of
its two-day meeting on Wednesday.
In the absence of key events or major economic data on
Monday, traders took profits on currencies that have rallied
against the U.S. currency, including the euro, which is up
roughly 2.0 percent so far this month.
The dollar index <.DXY> rose 0.5 percent to 76.784 after
three weeks of declines
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed down 41.34
points, or 0.42 percent, to 9,778.86. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> slipped 3.64 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,064.66.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <>, however, added 5.18 points,
or 0.24 percent, to 2,138.04.
Energy <.GSPE> and materials <.GSPM> ranked as the S&P
500's worst-performing sectors, both down about 0.9 percent.
Copper rebounded from a 2-1/2-week low to end modestly
higher after the dollar gave back some gains. Rising warehouse
levels raised concerns about the near-term demand outlook.
[]
"It's almost tracking the currencies one-for-one and there
is very little else we can see," said Edward Meir, senior
commodity analyst at MF Global. "The dollar is a short-term
factor when there is not much else to hang their hat on."
Stock market losses kept a bid under safe-haven Treasuries,
leaving short-dated securities in the plus column in late trade
and longer-dated instruments with only narrow losses.
[]
"Although equities are still down, we seem to be following
the path of equities," said Mary Ann Hurley, vice president of
fixed income trading at D.A. Davidson & Co in Seattle, adding
"we do have a lot of supply to bid on this week."
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes <US10YT=RR> were down
4/32 in price to yield 3.48 percent, while 30-year bonds
<US30YT=RR> were down 7/32 to yield 4.23 percent.
The euro <EUR=> slipped 0.2 percent to $1.4672, and against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.8 percent at 92.04 yen.
European equity markets closed lower, with banks and miners
retreating in particular, as some investors wondered whether
the strong rally from March lows is close to conclusion.
Stocks that have led the recent recovery were hit hardest,
with miners topping the list of decliners.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> fell 0.7 percent
to close at 999.06, the first time it closed below 1,000 since
last Tuesday.
Trading was quiet as markets in Japan were shut until
Thursday for holidays, while markets in India, Indonesia,
Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines were also shut.
U.S. crude for October delivery <CLc1> settled at $69.71 a
barrel, dropping $2.33, while London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell
$2.63 to $68.69.
Oil prices have more than doubled since hitting lows near
$30 a barrel at the depths of the global economic crisis but
the market has come under pressure since touching a year high
of $75 a barrel almost a month ago.
Gold prices briefly dropped below $1,000 an ounce. Prices
hit their weakest since Sept. 15 at $995.50, far from the
18-month high struck last week at $1,023.85.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> dipped 0.6 percent, after surging 80 percent
since mid-March when global markets started to rally on hopes
that the financial crisis had bottomed out.
(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and
Chris Reese in New York and David Sheppard, David Brett and
Simon Falush in London; Writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by
James Dalgleish)
