GLOBAL MARKETS-Gold extends record high on dollar weakness

                                
 * U.S. dollar hit by profit-taking after rally
                                
 * Gold rises to fresh record high of $1,152.75 per ounce
                                
 * U.S. technology shares hit by some weak earnings
                                
 By Daniel Bases
                                
 NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Investors took profits after a
U.S. dollar rally and the status quo view of low U.S. interest
rates, plowing the cash into gold, which lurched to another
record high on Wednesday.
                                
 Commodity prices benefited from the dollar's decline. U.S.
benchmark stocks fell on worrisome outlooks from major software
makers and a surprise decline in new home construction that
undermined the economic recovery outlook.
                                
 European share prices were brought lower once U.S. markets
opened. Japanese share prices fell to six-week lows.
                                
 U.S. Treasury bonds could not capitalize on the drop in
stocks as slightly stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer
inflation data encouraged some selling. Euro zone government
bond prices followed suit. [ID:nN1899353]
                                
 Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose 85 cents, or 0.07 percent, to
$1,141.40 after earlier hitting a record $1,152.75.
                                
 Analysts said the run-up in gold was driven by investors
counting on the precious metal as a hedge against a falling
dollar and by speculative buying.
                                
 St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said
the U.S. central bank would likely start tightening financial
conditions by selling assets it has accumulated before raising
interest rates.
                                
 The Bullard statement "throws cold water on any lingering
thoughts of rate hikes," said Jacob Oubina, strategist at
Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey. It also offset comments
this week from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who triggered a
dollar rally when he said the central bank was attentive to the
dollar's value.
                                
 At 1:20 p.m. (1820 GMT), the dollar was down against a
basket of major currencies <.DXY> 0.33 percent at 75.118.
                                
 The euro was up 0.54 percent at $1.4948 <EUR=> while the
dollar was flat versus the Japanese yen, up just 0.03 percent
at 89.35 <JPY=>.
                                
 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was
down 61.75 points, or 0.59 percent, at 10,375.67. The Standard
& Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 5.82 points, or 0.52
percent, at 1,104.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was
down 20.75 points, or 0.94 percent, at 2,183.03.
                                
 In the last week there has been a breakdown in the negative
correlation between U.S. stocks and the dollar whereby any
positive news on the economy has been good for equities but bad
for the dollar as investors take a step off the sidelines with
their cash and put it at greater risk.
                                
 "I think the reason why it has broken down this week has
been talk on behalf of the Fed on the dollar and possibly
maintaining low interest rates for a prolonged period of time,"
said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon
in New York.
                                
 "It is uniformly negative for the U.S. dollar regardless of
the direction of the (U.S.) stock market," he added.
                                
 European share prices fell for a second consecutive day
with stronger mining stocks unable to offset weak U.S. economic
data and technology shares.
                                
 The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares
ended down 0.3 percent at 1,027.16 points, having hit a fresh
13-month high earlier in the trading session.
                                
 U.S. technology stocks, among the stronger areas of the
market weakened after architectural and engineering software
 maker Autodesk Inc <ADSK.O> forecast fourth-quarter earnings
below expectations. Customer relationship software maker
Salesforce.com Inc <CRM.N> reported a slowdown in new business.
For details, see [ID:nN1747284] and [ID:nN1739572].
                                
 In the energy markets, U.S. crude oil <CLc1> turned lower
in U.S. trade, slipping 35 cents, or 0.44 percent, to $78.79
per barrel.
                                
 The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 8/32, with the yield at 3.3527 percent.
                                
 Euro zone government bond yields rose. The 10-year Bund
yields <EU10YT=RR> were up half a basis point at 3.288
percent.
                                
 "The volume of risk taking is very, very light," said a
European-based trader, adding that people were stepping back
ahead of the end of the year.
 (Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu, Christoph Steitz,
Kirsten Donovan in London, Leah Schnurr, Steven C. Johnson,
Emily Flitter in New York; Editing by Kenneth Barry)