* U.S. shares end flat to lower, Treasuries rise
* Gold reaches all-time high above $1,274 per ounce
* Yen at 15-year peak after prime minister survives vote
* German economic sentiment slips
By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell broadly
on Tuesday, breaking through milestone lows against the yen,
euro and Swiss franc on a combination of political and
technical factors while global stocks ended flat, taking little
solace in upbeat U.S. retail sales data.
Safe-haven trades boosted gold to record highs and
supported government debt prices. Oil fell.
The negative bias in stocks was seen carrying over into
Japanese trade for Wednesday as the December futures contract
for the Nikkei 225 stock index <0#NK:> trading in Chicago fell
50 points to 9,280.
In currency markets, the greenback stumbled to a 15-year
low after Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan won an unexpectedly
decisive victory in a ruling party vote. Markets were braced
for a shift toward yen intervention if Kan lost the contest to
a rival who argued more forcefully for a weaker currency.
The yen traded at one point below 83 per U.S. dollar and
the euro hit a one-month high against the greenback, breaking
above $1.30. The dollar sliced through parity against the Swiss
franc, dropping to its lowest level since late November.
"It seems people are vacating dollar positions today and
that money is shifting into other safe-haven assets for the
time being -- the yen, the Swiss franc, gold and U.S.
Treasuries," said Greg Salvaggio, vice president of trading at
Tempus Consulting in Washington.
After a see-saw session, U.S. share prices ended mostly
lower. The Dow Jones industrial average <> fell 17.64
points, or 0.17 percent, to 10,526.49. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> lost 0.80 point, or 0.07 percent, to 1,121.10.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <> dropped 4.06 points, or 0.18
percent, to 2,289.77.
Stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales and a raised
outlook from U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy <BBY.N> helped
limit equity sales by investors looking to lock in profits.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Fear" and shopping - U.S. retail sales in a volatile market
environment. For graphic: http://link.reuters.com/zux72p
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
European shares drifted lower into the close. The
FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares ended
the session down 0.03 percent at 1,087.63 in a choppy session
after closing on Monday at its highest level since late April.
Outsource firm Capita <CPI.L> rose 2.87 percent after
investors were reassured about public sector contracts, while
Dutch group Philips <PHG.AS> fell 3.86 percent after announcing
what analysts said were unambitious growth targets.
MSCI's All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS>, however,
edged up to a four-month high, gaining 0.34 percent.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 stock index <> finished
down 0.24 percent.
YEN PLAY
The U.S. dollar fell 0.73 percent against the yen,
weakening to 83.07 <JPY=>.
Prime Minister Kan's victory over party heavyweight Ichiro
Ozawa, who had made more strident calls to curb the yen's rise,
raised speculation Japanese authorities would not intervene
imminently.
The Kan victory provided "positive yen news," said Joseph
Trevisani, chief analyst at FX Solutions in Saddle River, New
Jersey. But he added that "83 has no more meaning than the
typical round number in dollar/yen. The level to look at is the
all-time low," which comes in around 79.75 yen.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PDF presentation on the yen: http://r.reuters.com/zuz33p
PDF on Japan leadership vote: http://r.reuters.com/vyk92p
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
The euro <EUR=> traded up 0.91 percent at $1.2995 while the
Australian dollar hit a two-year high versus the greenback. It
traded at $0.9448, up 1.0 percent from late Monday <AUD=D4>.
Against the Swiss franc <CHF=>, the dollar fell to 0.9934
franc.
Government debt prices were generally stronger in a
flight-to-safety trade despite the U.S. retail sales report,
which contrasted with a survey showing economic sentiment in
Germany fell more than forecast in September. The ZEW survey
turned negative for the first time since March 2009 and threw
into doubt the economic recovery of Europe's largest economy.
[]
December Bund futures <FGBLZ0> rose 64 basis points to
130.56, off an early high in the 130.70 range. Benchmark
10-year U.S. Treasuries <US10YT=RR> rose 18/32 of a point in
price, pushing the yield down to 2.68 percent.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> settled down 39 cents at
$76.80 per barrel amid expectations of a quicker restart for a
damaged pipeline that sends oil from Canada to the U.S.
Midwest. []
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rallied on safe-haven flows, taking
the precious metal above $1,270 an ounce. In late New York
trade it was up $22.60 at $1,268.60.
(Additional reporting by Nick Olivari, Leah Schnurr, Frank
Tang, Chuck Mikolajczak, Gene Ramos, Jessica Mortimer, Tamawa
Desai, Shinichi Saoshiro and Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Dan
Grebler)
