* Gold at record in wake of Moody's warning on U.S. debt
* Bernanke comments weigh on markets
* U.S. stocks fall, along with oil (Updates prices, adds details)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday in the wake of Moody's warning that the U.S. government may lose its top credit rating, while stocks and oil prices fell on comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Stocks reversed early gains after the U.S. central bank chief's comments dampened investor speculation that more economic stimulus may be on the way. Oil prices also declined, while the U.S. dollar trimmed its losses.
Moody's warned late Wednesday that it could strip the world's biggest economy of its loftiest credit status on the growing risk that it could default because Washington has not reached a deal to raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. For details see [ID:nLDE76D01W].
The U.S. Treasury has warned it will run out of money after Aug. 2 to pay all of the country's bills if a deal is not reached over cutting the fiscal deficit to allow the debt ceiling to be raised.
Spot gold
The precious metal is on track for its ninth straight daily rise, its longest run of gains since October 2006. During that period, bullion has risen more than 7 percent.
"This is more about fear, about the dollar, the debt troubles in Europe, as well as the possible downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Moody's," said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. "For gold, this is (one of) the best times."
In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar was off 0.2
percent against a basket of currencies <.DXY>. Both the euro
As the deadline for raising the U.S. statutory borrowing limit nears, investors "are going to want to hold other currencies and that will weigh on the dollar," said Mark McCormick, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.
BERNANKE WEIGHS ON MARKETS
It was the second day of testimony from Bernanke to the U.S. Congress. Stocks rallied on Wednesday after he suggested further monetary policy stimulus was possible if needed.
The Fed ended its most recent asset-purchase program in June. Traders said another round of easing would flood the financial system with yet more money and encourage investors to reach for higher-yielding currencies and assets.
The Fed's easy money policies since 2008 have helped bolster stocks. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up about 95 percent from its March 2009 closing low.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 5.49 points, or 0.04 percent, at 12,497.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 1.76 points, or 0.13 percent, at 1,315.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 19.30 points, or 0.69 percent, at 2,777.62.
World stocks as measured by MSCI <.MIWD00000PUS> were down 1.3 percent while the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> ended down 0.9 percent. Japan's Nikkei <.N225> ended down 0.3 percent.
OIL SLIDES
Oil prices dropped in volatile trading following Bernanke's
comments. In London, Brent crude for August delivery
U.S. Treasuries prices slipped as well, with benchmark
10-year Treasury notes
"The potential downgrade of U.S. debt caused the market to sell off a little bit overnight, but given all the headlines concerning the potential downgrade, the markets are trading extremely resiliently here and I would not be surprised if once we digest this bit of supply we continue to motor toward lower yields," said Scott Graham, head of government bond trading at BMO Capital Markets in Chicago. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Gaunt, Nia Williams, Jon Harvey and Atul Prakash in London, and Frank Tang, Chris Reese and Steven Johnson in New York; and Andy Sullivan and Deborah Charles in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)