* Federal Reserve meeting eyed for any extra stimulus
* Gold hits all-time high on Fed speculation
* Dollar eases against major currencies
* Stocks add to gains after housing data
By Walter Brandimarte and Emelia Sithole-Matarise
NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped and world stocks rose on Monday as the possibility the Federal Reserve could signal further economic stimulus spurred demand for higher-yielding assets.
Expectations of further monetary easing drove the S&P 500 to a four-month high, above a key technical level -- a possible sign of more gains ahead.
Gold hit an all-time high on speculation the Fed may announce on Tuesday a move toward further monetary easing, which added fuel to the precious metal's drive higher.
Prices of long-dated U.S. Treasuries climbed before the Fed's monetary policy meeting on Tuesday when policymakers could hint on the conditions for future purchases of government debt.
"There is plenty of pressure on the Fed to put forward what they are going to do to stop the U.S. going into a double-dip recession. It will be the main focus of the week and the market could go either way. We expect trading to be quite volatile," said Will Hedden, sales trader at IG Index.
The Fed is not expected to make any new monetary policy moves, but the post-meeting statement will be closely scrutinized for signals on the debate about whether further large-scale asset purchases are needed to support the sluggish recovery.
Further supporting the case for more monetary easing was an index of U.S. home-builder sentiment, which held steady in September against a forecast of a small uptick. For details, see [ID:nWALKKE6KD].
"The housing market data basically continues (to be) weak," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT in New York. "The housing market is one of the most troubling aspects of the U.S. economy and one of the main reasons why the Federal Reserve is considering additional quantitative easing."
U.S. stocks added to gains after the housing data.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 102.17 points, or 0.96 percent, to 10,710.02, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 10.71 points, or 0.95 percent, to 1,136.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 25.59 points, or 1.11 percent, to 2,341.20.
European shares rebounded, with the FTSEurofirst index <.FTEU3> advancing 1.28 percent. Investors pushed aside for now concerns about Ireland's shaky banking sector, which had rocked markets on Friday.
The MSCI All-Country World index <.MIWD00000PUS> climbed 0.99 percent, while the MSCI Emerging Market stock index <.MSCIEF> was 0.64 percent higher.
DOLLAR SLIPS
Prospects of more quantitative easing, often seen as negative for currencies, caused the U.S. dollar to weaken 0.22 percent against major currencies, according to a benchmark index <.DXY>.
The euro
Japan intervened to sell yen for the first time in six years last week, partially interrupting a decline in the dollar that began when talk revived last month of the U.S. central bank opting for further quantitative easing -- effectively printing money.
The Australian dollar hit a two-year high after hawkish comments from a policymaker.
The Aussie
Gold, which tends to benefit from economic uncertainty because many investors see it as a safe-haven asset, rose as high as $1,283.70 an ounce, eclipsing the previous all-time peak of $1,282.75 struck on Friday.
U.S. crude oil futures, which fell almost 4 percent last week, rose 98 cents, or 1.33 percent, to $74.64 per barrel. (Additional reporting by Angela Moon, Ellen Freilich and Vivianne Rodrigues; Editing by Kenneth Barry)