* Commodity stocks retreat as U.S. dollar rises
* U.S. dollar rises as investors trim bearish bets
* Oil falls towards $69 on signs demand still weak
* Bonds rise as lower stocks bolster safety buying (Updates with U.S. markets activity, changes dateline; previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose on Monday, hurting crude oil and prices of raw materials stocks, as doubts about the sustainability of the rally in equities in the past few months unnerved investors.
The MSCI all-country world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> was down 0.8 percent.
The U.S. dollar climbed against major currencies, hitting a near two-week high against the yen, as investors scaled back massive short positions ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting and before a summit of the leaders from the Group of 20 nations. For details, see: [ID:nN21404300]
Oil prices fell by almost 3.5 percent towards $69 a barrel on further signs of weak fuel demand, and gold fell to its lowest in almost a week, weighed by a rallying dollar that dented the metal's appeal to non-U.S. investors. [ID:nSYD151755] [ID:nLL670225]
Copper prices slipped to their lowest in more than two weeks as traders fretted about rising stocks and a firmer dollar. [ID:nLL546177]
In the absence of key events or major economic data on Monday, traders took profits on currencies that have rallied against the U.S. dollar, including the euro, which is up roughly 2.0 percent so far this month.
"The markets are consolidating and correcting ahead of the Fed decision this week," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York.
Shortly after 1 p.m. (1700 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 43.38 points, or 0.44 percent, at 9,776.82. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 4.87 points, or 0.46 percent, at 1,063.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 2.19 points, or 0.10 percent, at 2,135.05.Wall Street:
The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to hold interest rates unchanged at near zero percent when it meets on Wednesday.
Traders will watch for any clues about the U.S. central bank's exit strategy from its program known as quantitative easing, which is designed to ease credit tightness.
European equity markets closed lower, with banks and miners retreating in particular, as some investors wondered whether the strong rally from March lows is close to conclusion.
Stocks that have led the recent recovery were hit hardest, with miners topping the list of decliners.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> fell 0.7 percent to close at 999.06 points, the first time it closed below 1,000 since last Tuesday.
"The growing sense of optimism left by (Fed Chairman) Ben Bernanke's comments last week has left many investors worrying that the top of this recent move higher is close, so today's profit taking and position posturing may have a worrying undertone to it," said Jimmy Yates, head of equities at CMC Markets.
The U.S. dollar earlier rose more than 1.0 percent against the yen after speculative flows pushed it higher but later it pared some gains.
Trading was quiet as markets in Japan were shut until Thursday for holidays, while markets in India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines were also shut.
"The focus for traders has been on the dollar," said Rick Meckler, the president of LibertyView Capital Management in New York. "To the extent it rallies, they're using it as a reason to take profits."
The euro
Against a currency basket <.DXY>, the ICE Futures dollar index rose to 77.108, its highest level since Sept. 10. The index was last at 76.78, up 0.5 percent on the day.
U.S. Treasury debt prices rose as a weaker stock market shored up the safe-haven appeal of government debt ahead of the Fed's two-day policy meeting, which begins on Tuesday. [ID:nN21398372]
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes
Oil prices have more than doubled since hitting lows near $30 a barrel at the height of the global economic crisis, but the market has come under pressure since touching a year high of $75 a barrel almost a month ago.
U.S. crude for October delivery fell $2.99 to $69.05 a
barrel by 1709 GMT. London Brent crude
Spot gold
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> dipped 0.3 percent, after surging 80 percent since mid-March when global markets started to rally on hopes that the financial crisis had bottomed out. (Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Chris Reese in New York; David Sheppard, David Brett and Simon Falush in London; writing by Herbert Lash)