* Disappointing Dell results drag down Wall Street
* Oil settles under $77 barrel on dollar rise, equity slip
* U.S. dollar advances as traders trim exposure to risk
* Bonds slip slightly ahead of auction, safe-haven flows
(Updates with close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Global stocks slid and the
U.S. dollar rose on Friday as investors cut their exposure to
risky assets amid signs of an anemic U.S. economic recovery.
Investors sought safe havens ahead of a holiday-shortened
week in the United States and in anticipation of the year-end
period, which can prove to be volatile.
Oil fell below $77, weighed by the stronger dollar, and
falling stock prices raised worries about the economy and the
outlook for energy demand. For details, see: []
Most U.S. Treasuries prices retreated as traders cut prices
ahead of the auction of $118 billion next week. But demand for
short-term debt before year's end pushed yields on the two-year
note below 0.68 percent, their lowest since last December.
[]
Yields on short-dated Treasury bills pushed below zero as
investors clamored for low-risk investments on bets central
banks will hold rates at ultra-low levels for a long time.
[]
"People are getting out of risk, getting into Treasuries
for the year-end, everybody is parking money," said James
Combias, head of government bond trading at Mizuho Securities
USA in New York.
U.S. gold futures ended higher for a sixth straight session
despite the dollar's rise in a late session rally that could
bode well for next week, traders said. []
Equity markets around the world fell as investors took
profits as the end of 2009 approaches. MSCI's all-country world
index <.MIWD00000PUS> has gained more than 70 percent from
March lows, and investors are leery of any signs of weakness as
they seek to justify further advances in equity prices.
"It's been a very good year for a lot of people, and it
makes sense that players are going to square up positions today
ahead of the U.S. holiday and month-end," said Michael
Woolfolk, strategist at BNY Mellon in New York.
U.S. markets will close next Thursday for the Thanksgiving
holiday, while Monday marks a national holiday in Japan.
Worse-than-expected quarterly results from computer maker
Dell Inc <DELL.O> and homebuilder D.R. Horton <DHI.N> helped
push U.S. stocks lower in the third straight negative session
for Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed down 14.28
points, or 0.14 percent, at 10,318.16. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> fell 3.52 points, or 0.32 percent, at
1,091.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> slid 10.78 points,
or 0.50 percent, at 2,146.04.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.5 percent, the broad market
S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent and the technology-rich Nasdaq slipped
1 percent.
A decline in technology shares is problematic, and "not a
sign of a healthy market," said Quincy Krosby, market
strategist at Prudential Financial in Shelton, Connecticut.
"We're not writing the obituary for this market, but it is
consolidating, getting far more careful. It is prudent to take
some money and some risk off the table," Krosby said.
An absence of fresh economic news made many markets choppy.
Investors reacted to a wave of speculation about the risk of a
default on Ukraine's sovereign and sovereign-guaranteed debt,
despite no new development to trigger the sudden fright.
[]
Gold for December delivery <GCZ9> settled up $4.90 at
$1,146.80 an ounce in New York.
The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, with
the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.42 percent at 75.606.
The euro <EUR=> fell 0.39 percent at $1.486, and against
the yen, the dollar <JPY=> fell 0.09 percent at 88.95.
The dollar is down some 14 percent since mid-March as signs
of a global recovery prompted investors to favor higher-yield
currencies and assets. Expectations for record low U.S.
interest rates well into 2010 have also hurt the greenback.
Commodity prices also fell as investors have scoured
economic data for signs of a recovery that would boost global
energy demand.
"Oil is clearly still tied to broader financial markets and
seeing losses due to a stronger dollar and a drop in stock
prices," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in
Stamford, Connecticut.
U.S. crude <CLc1> for December delivery, which expired
Friday, fell 74 cents to settle at $76.72 a barrel. London
Brent crude <LCOc1> for January delivery slipped 44 cents to
settle at $77.20.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was
down 6/32 in price to yield 3.36 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 0.7 percent, and Japan's Nikkei index
<> slid 0.5 percent.
(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu, Steven C. Johnson, Edward
McAllister, Chris Reese, Ellen Freilich and Frank Tang in New
York; Ian Chua and Atul Prakash in London; writing by Herbert
Lash; Editing by Leslie Adler)
