GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar slips; stocks, gold up on Fed speculation

* 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 (Updates with European markets' close)

By Walter Brandimarte

NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - World stocks jumped and the dollar slipped on Monday as investors speculated the Federal Reserve could signal further economic stimulus, supporting 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 move that analysts consider a sign of more gains ahead.

Gold hit record highs for the fourth consecutive day, benefiting from dollar weakness and concerns that any additional stimulus could prove inflationary.

Prices of long-dated U.S. Treasuries rose 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 right now, 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> gained 95.59 points, or 0.90 percent, at 10,703.44, while The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 10.42 points, or 0.93 percent, to 1,136.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 21.19 points, or 0.92 percent, at 2,336.80.

European shares rebounded, with the FTSEurofirst index <.FTEU3> closing 1.35 percent higher on hopes that the economy will not slip back into recession.

Energy companies Total , ENI , BP and Royal Dutch Shell rose between 2 and 2.9 percent, as crude oil prices rose more than 1 percent.

The MSCI All-Country World index <.MIWD00000PUS> climbed 0.96 percent, while the MSCI Emerging Market stock index <.MSCIEF> was 0.59 percent higher.

DOLLAR SLIPS, AUSSIE JUMPS

Prospects of more quantitative easing, often seen as negative for currencies, caused the U.S. dollar to weaken 0.21 percent against major currencies, according to a benchmark index <.DXY>.

The euro gained 0.25 percent to $1.3077. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was down 0.19 percent at 85.68.

The yen has been trading at a tight range since the Bank of Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market last week to stem further currency appreciation.

The Australian dollar hit a two-year high after hawkish comments from a policymaker.

The Aussie rose more than 1 percent earlier to $0.9469, its strongest since mid-2008, after Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens suggested Australian interest rates would rise further.

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.

Analysts said prices of the metal were also propped up investors trying to hedge against the weakening of the dollar and possible inflationary effects of the Fed's ultra-loose monetary policy.

"All the stories stack up hugely in favor of gold currently," said Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen. "A move higher to between $1,300-$1,350 could be a good target towards year-end, but it will come in steps."

U.S. crude oil futures , which fell almost 4 percent last week, rose $1.30, or 1.76 percent, to $74.96 per barrel (Additional reporting by Angela Moon, Ellen Freilich, Jan Harvey, Vivianne Rodrigues and Brian Gorman)