* U.S. stocks range-bound after touching 13-month high
* Dollar rises off 15-month low as risk appetite eases
* Sterling drops on Fitch credit-worthiness warning
(Updates with U.S. closing prices)
By Manuela Badawy
NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished little
changed on Tuesday as investors paused after the Dow touched a
13-month high the previous day, while the U.S. dollar edged up
from a 15-month low against major currencies.
Prices of U.S. government debt were also steady after the
Treasury sold $25 billion of 10-year notes and sterling sank
after a rating agency's comment on UK risk.
A day after stocks rallied on expectations that U.S.
interest rates will stay near zero well into next year,
investors took a breather and the market traded range-bound.
"Monetary and fiscal stimulus has clearly taken hold, and
has resulted in an initial growth spurt that has been sharp and
fast," noted Bob Doll, chief investment officer for global
equities at BlackRock in New York.
"At some point, we believe markets will require clearer
evidence that corporate revenue growth is sustainable, and
unless or until that occurs, we should see some continued
back-and-forth action in the markets."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> ended up 20.03
points, or 0.20 percent, at 10,246.97. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> ended down 0.07 point, or 0.01 percent, at
1,093.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> finished down 2.98
points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,151.08.
Sterling fell broadly after Fitch Ratings said Britain was
the major economy most at risk of losing its AAA rating.
Sterling fell as low as $1.6600 <GBP=D4>, before recovering to
$1.6736.
The dollar traded up slightly against a basket of six major
currencies, with the U.S. dollar index <.DXY> at 75.022. The
euro <EUR=> eased 0.07 percent at $1.4982.
Risk appetite eased as the sell-off in U.S. dollars abated,
having "moved a little too far, too quickly," said John Doyle,
foreign exchange strategist at Tempus Consulting in Washington,
yet the trend towards dollar weakness remains in place.
U.S. crude oil <CLc1> fell 0.48 percent to $79.05 a barrel
as the dollar firmed and energy companies began to restore
operations in the Gulf of Mexico after Tropical Storm Ida
passed without major incident.
Oil prices have risen 77 percent so far this year but they
are still nearly 47 percent below their high of more than $147
a barrel struck in July last year.
U.S. Treasury debt prices steadied after a $25 billion
auction of benchmark 10-year notes drew decent demand but did
little to dampen caution ahead of this week's 30-year note
sale.
The 10-year note <US10YT=RR> traded up 3/32 in price, with
the yield, which moves inversely to price, at 3.48 percent.
The December bund futures <FGBLc1> rose 33 ticks after a
ZEW survey showed German economic sentiment fell for the first
time in three months to hit its lowest since July.
MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 0.2 percent,
while the FTSEurofirst 300 index <> slipped 0.2 percent.
In Asia <.MIAPJ0000PUS> emerging stocks rose 0.6 percent.
Emerging stocks <.MSCIEF> rose 0.2 percent.
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
