* Global stocks slip as risky bets pared on rising dollar
* Euro breaks below $1.43 for first time since September
* Oil rises above $73 a barrel on news of Iran-Iraq row
* Bonds fall on profit-taking after Thursday's rally
(Updates with U.S. markets, changes byline, dateline,
previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Crude oil rose and the U.S.
dollar gained in a safe-haven bid on Friday after Iranian
soldiers crossed into Iraqi territory and took up positions in
a disputed southern oilfield.
The euro fell below $1.4300 for the first time since Sept.
4, according to Reuters data, as investors bought the U.S.
currency amid the Iran-Iraq tensions. For details, see
[].
The dollar's advance led investors to pare risky bets, such
as stocks, but the Nasdaq edged higher as upbeat results from
Oracle <ORCL.O> and Research In Motion <RIM.TO> <RIMM.O>
boosted optimism about technology spending. []
Oracle shares rose 7 percent, while RIM's Nasdaq-traded
shares jumped 9.7 percent.
"I think we're seeing a continued flight to safety," said
Tom Schrader, managing director of U.S. equity trading at
Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in Baltimore.
"The stronger the dollar gets it means investors will be
unwinding the dollar carry trade and that's going to put upward
pressure on the dollar and downward pressure on the stocks."
The U.S. dollar index <.DXY> climbed about 0.5 percent, a
move that pressured shares of natural resource companies and
weighed on exporters like Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N>, which pared
some losses after falling nearly 2 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 10.96
points, or 0.11 percent, at 10,297.30. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 2.00 points, or 0.18 percent, at
1,098.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 17.79
points, or 0.82 percent, at 2,197.84.
U.S. Treasury debt prices fell as profit-taking emerged
after a safe-haven rally in bond markets on Thursday that was
ignited by falling stocks and concerns about Greece's fiscal
problems. []
But renewed weakness on Wall Street curbed the decline in
bond prices in the absence of major U.S. economic data.
"It looks to me like things are going in contrary
directions," said Jerry Webman, chief economist at Oppenheimer
Funds in New York.
"Everybody is trying to ask if there really is some of sort
of synchronized global recovery, the answer to which I think is
'yes,' Webman said. "And we now expect there to be bubbles
somewhere. So where is the next bubble? Is it gold, some
emerging market commodity or say currency or equity market?"
European shares closed lower, with banks falling as ongoing
concerns about tough new Basel regulations weighed and oils
down after crude prices retreated. []
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of leading European
shares closed 0.5 percent lower at 1,013.15.
Oil rose above $73 a barrel amid the oilfield tensions,
while the stronger dollar showed investors remain wary of risky
commodities. Gold retreated towards $1,100 an ounce before
reversing course, and copper prices eased as the dollar firmed
against the euro.
Spot gold prices <XAU=> rose $14.80 to $1112.60 an ounce.
Iraq's Deputy Interior Minister said Iranian troops were
still occupying an Iraqi oil well. Iraq hasn't taken any
military action but officials alleged "repeated" Iranian
incursions into its territory this week. []
"The Iraq-Iran issue is bringing some nervousness in the
market, but I think there is a very high possibility that there
is nothing in the story," said Eugen Weinberg, oil analyst at
Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
"If there is some sort of conflict, then the price reaction
is too small but if it is nothing the reaction is too high,"
Weinberg added.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> rose 70 cents to $73.35 a
barrel.
The dollar was up against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.36 percent at 77.972.
The euro <EUR=> was down 0.37 percent at $1.4291. Against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.71 percent at 90.52.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 10/32 in price to yield 3.52 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS>, which has rallied more than 60 percent this
year, was 0.5 percent lower. In Japan, the Nikkei share index
<> dipped 0.2 percent, paring most of the day's losses.
(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu, Nick Olivari and Richard Leong in
New York; Joe Brock and Joanne Frearson in London; writing by
Herbert Lash; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
