GLOBAL MARKETS-USD pummeled, gold hits record high, stocks flat

* U.S. shares end flat to lower, Treasuries rise

* Gold reaches all-time high above $1,274 per ounce

* Yen at 15-year peak after prime minister survives vote

* German economic sentiment slips

By Daniel Bases

NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell broadly on Tuesday, breaking through milestone lows against the yen, euro and Swiss franc on a combination of political and technical factors while global stocks ended flat, taking little solace in upbeat U.S. retail sales data.

Safe-haven trades boosted gold to record highs and supported government debt prices. Oil fell.

The negative bias in stocks was seen carrying over into Japanese trade for Wednesday as the December futures contract for the Nikkei 225 stock index <0#NK:> trading in Chicago fell 50 points to 9,280.

In currency markets, the greenback stumbled to a 15-year low after Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan won an unexpectedly decisive victory in a ruling party vote. Markets were braced for a shift toward yen intervention if Kan lost the contest to a rival who argued more forcefully for a weaker currency.

The yen traded at one point below 83 per U.S. dollar and the euro hit a one-month high against the greenback, breaking above $1.30. The dollar sliced through parity against the Swiss franc, dropping to its lowest level since late November.

"It seems people are vacating dollar positions today and that money is shifting into other safe-haven assets for the time being -- the yen, the Swiss franc, gold and U.S. Treasuries," said Greg Salvaggio, vice president of trading at Tempus Consulting in Washington.

After a see-saw session, U.S. share prices ended mostly lower. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 17.64 points, or 0.17 percent, to 10,526.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 0.80 point, or 0.07 percent, to 1,121.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 4.06 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,289.77.

Stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales and a raised outlook from U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy helped limit equity sales by investors looking to lock in profits.
"Fear" and shopping - U.S. retail sales in a volatile market environment. For graphic: http://link.reuters.com/zux72p

European shares drifted lower into the close. The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares ended the session down 0.03 percent at 1,087.63 in a choppy session after closing on Monday at its highest level since late April.

Outsource firm Capita rose 2.87 percent after investors were reassured about public sector contracts, while Dutch group Philips fell 3.86 percent after announcing what analysts said were unambitious growth targets.

MSCI's All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS>, however, edged up to a four-month high, gaining 0.34 percent.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 stock index <.N225> finished down 0.24 percent.

YEN PLAY

The U.S. dollar fell 0.73 percent against the yen, weakening to 83.07 .

Prime Minister Kan's victory over party heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa, who had made more strident calls to curb the yen's rise, raised speculation Japanese authorities would not intervene imminently.

The Kan victory provided "positive yen news," said Joseph Trevisani, chief analyst at FX Solutions in Saddle River, New Jersey. But he added that "83 has no more meaning than the typical round number in dollar/yen. The level to look at is the all-time low," which comes in around 79.75 yen.
PDF on Japan leadership vote: http://r.reuters.com/vyk92p

The euro traded up 0.91 percent at $1.2995 while the Australian dollar hit a two-year high versus the greenback. It traded at $0.9448, up 1.0 percent from late Monday .

Against the Swiss franc , the dollar fell to 0.9934 franc.

Government debt prices were generally stronger in a flight-to-safety trade despite the U.S. retail sales report, which contrasted with a survey showing economic sentiment in Germany fell more than forecast in September. The ZEW survey turned negative for the first time since March 2009 and threw into doubt the economic recovery of Europe's largest economy. [ID:nLDE68C1RH]

December Bund futures rose 64 basis points to 130.56, off an early high in the 130.70 range. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose 18/32 of a point in price, pushing the yield down to 2.68 percent.

U.S. light sweet crude oil settled down 39 cents at $76.80 per barrel amid expectations of a quicker restart for a damaged pipeline that sends oil from Canada to the U.S. Midwest. [ID:nN1489078]

Spot gold prices rallied on safe-haven flows, taking the precious metal above $1,270 an ounce. In late New York trade it was up $22.60 at $1,268.60. (Additional reporting by Nick Olivari, Leah Schnurr, Frank Tang, Chuck Mikolajczak, Gene Ramos, Jessica Mortimer, Tamawa Desai, Shinichi Saoshiro and Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Dan Grebler)