* Profit-taking, weak economic data pull U.S. dollar down
* Gold rises to fresh record high of $1,152.75 per ounce
* U.S. stock indexes slip from 13-month highs
* U.S. technology shares hit by some weak earnings
(Updates with closing prices, comment)
By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Gold turned in the brightest
performance on an otherwise dismal day for global markets,
hitting a record high after weak U.S. economic data and
worrisome outlooks from some software companies undermined the
economic recovery outlook.
Investors made further bets that U.S. interest rates would
stay low for the foreseeable future, after a surprise decline
in new home construction, by selling the U.S. dollar a day
after its best performance in three weeks.
The dollar's drop was to the benefit of commodity prices as
crude oil also rose, pulling closer to $80 a barrel.
European share prices were brought lower by weak U.S. share
prices, while Japanese stocks closed at six-week lows.
U.S. Treasury bonds could not capitalize on the drop in
stock prices as slightly stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer
inflation data encouraged some selling. Euro zone government
bond prices followed suit. []
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose 3.50 cents, or 0.31 percent,
to $1,144.85 after earlier hitting a record $1,152.75.
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, analysts said.
"There is a lurking concern in the background that still
exists," said Bill O'Neill, partner at LOGIC Advisors, noting
that investors were worried about the vulnerability of banks
and the financial system.
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 4:20 p.m. (2129 GMT), the dollar was down against a
basket of major currencies <.DXY> 0.40 percent at 75.064.
The euro was up 0.63 percent at $1.4961 <EUR=> while the
dollar was flat versus the Japanese yen, down just 0.01 percent
at 89.31 <JPY=>.
On Wall Street, a day after U.S. stocks closed at their
best levels in 13 months, the Dow Jones industrial average
<> fell 11.11 points, or 0.11 percent, at 10,426.31. The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 0.52 points, or 0.05
percent, at 1,109.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index <>
dropped 10.64 points, or 0.48 percent, at 2,193.14.
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 <> 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 [] and [].
In the energy markets, U.S. crude oil <CLc1> settled up 44
cents, or 0.56 percent, at $79.58 a barrel, trading from
$78.67 to $80.33. The latest government report said crude
inventories fell last week after doubts about economic recovery
were stoked by the housing data.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 10/32, with the yield at 3.37 percent.
Euro zone government bond yields rose. The 10-year Bund
yields <EU10YT=RR> were up half a basis point at 3.288
percent.
(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu, Christoph Steitz,
Kirsten Donovan in London, Leah Schnurr, Steven C. Johnson,
Emily Flitter, Ellen Freilich in New York; Editing by Kenneth
Barry)
