* Global stocks gain on surprise Abu Dhabi aid to Dubai
* Oil slips below $70 a barrel on plentiful inventories
* Bonds ease as stock gains override safe-haven buying
* Dollar dips vs euro on Dubai news; Fed meeting in focus (Updates with close of U.S. markets)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks surged to fresh closing highs for 2009 and the euro gained against the U.S. dollar on Monday after Abu Dhabi's $10 billion in aid to help Dubai avoid a default boosted appetite for riskier assets.
The dollar slipped after Dubai's bailout eased fears of a potential debt default that had rattled markets and lifted the U.S. currency last week on a flight to safety bid. [ID:nN14168854]
Gold advanced moderately and copper prices firmed on the news, while most U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on a reduced safe-haven buying of bonds. For details, see: [ID:nLDE5BD0WM] [ID:nLDE5BD0OT] [ID:nN14190746]
Oil, meanwhile, slid for the ninth consecutive day as weak fuel demand overshadowed stock gains and the weaker dollar. [ID:nTOE5BC03P]
The Dow industrials and Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended the day at 14-month closing highs, while the Nasdaq finished at a 15-month closing high. [ID:nN14192535]
Stocks were also propelled by Exxon Mobil Corp's
But lingering worry over debt woes elsewhere capped euro gains and investors were cautious ahead of a meeting of Federal Reserve policy-makers this week that may provide clues about how the Fed -- the U.S. central bank -- intends to exit its current ultra-loose monetary policy.
"Abu Dhabi helped risk-taking overnight and that hurt the dollar, but we're at an interesting point heading into the Fed meeting," said Dan Cook, senior analyst at IG Markets in Chicago.
"(Fed Chairman Ben) Bernanke has said rates will stay low, but people are starting to think the Fed at some point will have to consider raising them," Cook said.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 29.55 points, or 0.28 percent, at 10,501.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 7.70 points, or 0.70 percent, at 1,114.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 21.79 points, or 0.99 percent, at 2,212.10.
Oil pared losses after the Dubai news but settled lower. Oil prices have fallen more than $8 a barrel this month in the longest price slide since July 2001 as rising U.S. inventory levels show a sluggish recovery in demand.
Crude for January delivery
"The fundamentals of oil demand are weak, and as the year comes to an end, people have been paying more attention to them," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Connecticut. "After falling so much, the market is trying to stem the slide but it hasn't really happened yet."
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
"There doesn't seem to be anything going on today," said Lee Olver, fixed income strategist at SMH Capital in Houston.
The dollar was down against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 0.33 percent at 76.322.
The euro
U.S. gold futures for February delivery
" The dollar decline helped stem the selling pressure. But the jury is still out on where the next near-term move will be for gold. For now, it's nap time," said George Nickas, a metals broker at FC Stone in New York.
European shares rose for a third straight session to hit a one-week closing high, with regional financial shares advancing after Dubai said it had received funding to help repay $4.1 billion in an Islamic bond maturing on Monday. [ID:nLDE5BD20L]
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top regional shares ended 0.8 percent higher at 1,018.29.
The inter-bank cost of borrowing dollars and euros held near record lows as the market prepared for the Fed's statement on interest rates and the final chance to get cheap one-year money from the European Central Bank. [ID:nLDE5BD0J7]
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> reversed course following the Dubai announcement to gain 0.4 percent. In Tokyo, Nikkei average <.N225> erased earlier losses to end flat.
(Reporting by Angela Moon, Edward McAllister, Steven C. Johnson, Emily Flitter and Carole Vaporean in New York and Kirsten Donovan, Michael Taylor in London; Writing by Herbert Lash; Editing by James Dalgleish; Editing by Andrew Hay)