GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, oil gain on likely Bernanke confirmation

                                
 * U.S. stocks gain on Bernanke outlook, other markets fall
                                
 * Dollar rises versus yen on Bernanke, BoJ speculation
                                
 * Oil rises over $75 on weaker dollar, Wall Street gains
                                
 * Bonds dip as stocks rise, poor home sales lend support
 (Updates with close of U.S. markets)
                                
 By Herbert Lash
                                
 NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday on
expectations Ben Bernanke will be confirmed for a second term
as chairman of the Federal Reserve, helping lift oil prices and
the U.S. dollar, and the gloom over by dour U.S. home sales.
                                
 The dollar rose against the yen as Bernanke edged closer to
winning a vote later this week in the Senate, which helped ease
anxiety among investors. For details see: [ID:nN25234160]
                                
 The dollar earlier pared gains versus the yen after data
showed existing U.S. home sales fell at the fastest rate on
record in December, a bearish sign for the key housing market
and the global economic recovery. [ID:nLDE60O0VK]
                                
 Existing U.S. home sales fell 16.7 percent in December
after a gain of 7.4 percent in November. Analysts had expected
home sales to fall 10 percent. [ID:nN25214275]
                                
 The likelihood that Bernanke will be confirmed, however,
boosted the appeal of riskier assets and helped U.S. Treasury
prices to fall as U.S. stocks recovered from their worst
three-day slide in 10 months last week. [IDn:N25134404]
                                
 "A bit of the uncertainty has abated with Bernanke on track
to be confirmed and we are seeing stocks come up on that," said
Ian Lyngen, senior government bond strategist at CRT Capital
Group in Stamford, Connecticut.
                                
 U.S. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders
rallied support for Bernanke and defended his record as a
crisis-fighter in an effort to rally votes. [ID:nN25179778]
                                
 The major U.S. equity indexes in the morning cut their
gains on news of the U.S. home sales data, with the Nasdaq
dipping into negative territory before recovering.
                                
 "The Fed chairman you know is better than the one you
don't, and the market really hates uncertainty," said Karl
Mills, president of Jurika, Mills & Keifer Investment Partners
in Oakland, California.
                                
 "If there is a perception that the direction of the Fed is
going to be increasingly politicized and this is going to
become an issue that is beaten around Congress, that will be
very bad for the markets in the near term."
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 23.88
points, or 0.23 percent, at 10,196.86. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 5.02 points, or 0.46 percent, at
1,096.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 5.51
points, or 0.25 percent, at 2,210.80.
                                
 Oil prices rose above $75 a barrel on a weaker dollar,
higher U.S. stocks and an oil spill in Texas that limited crude
deliveries to some U.S. refiners. [ID:nSGE60O05V]
                                
 Oil prices earlier fell to a one-month low of nearly $74 a
barrel, erasing almost $10 a barrel over the past two weeks
after hitting a 15-month peak of $83.95 on Jan. 11.
                                
 U.S. crude for March delivery <CLc1> settled at $75.26 a
barrel, up 72 cents, or nearly 1 percent.
                                
 London ICE Brent <LCOc1> settled at $73.69, up 86 cents.
                                
 The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 7/32 in price to yield 3.63 percent.
                                
 U.S. Treasury debt prices dipped, as Wall Street recovered
from the Dow's worst three-day slide in 10 months, reducing the
safe-haven appeal of bonds. [ID:nN25183664]
                                
 The dollar was down against a basket of major currencies,
with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 0.11 percent at 78.191.
                                
 The euro <EUR=> was up 0.09 percent at $1.415, and against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> was up 0.38 percent at 90.23.
                                
 Adding to pressure on the yen was speculation the Bank of
Japan may announce new measures to loosen monetary policy,
including buying government bonds to support the economy.
                                
 The softer U.S. dollar and investors looking for a bargain
helped buoy metal prices, traders said. [USD/]
                                
 U.S. gold futures ended higher on a combination of a dollar
drop, crude oil gains and renewed physical buying after last
week's sharp losses. [ID:nN25546999]
                                
 Gold for February delivery <GCG0> settled up $6 at
$1,095.70 an ounce in New York.
                                
 Asian stocks fell, with the Nikkei <.N225> ended down 0.74
percent at a four-week closing low and the MSCI index for Asia
ex-Japan shares <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was down 0.7 percent.
 (Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica, Wanfeng Zhou, Richard Leong in
New York; Brian Gorman in London; writing by Herbert Lash;
Editing by Andrew Hay and Diane Craft)