* Euro, Sterling slip while yen flat vs U.S. dollar
* Brent crude drops below $40 a barrel
* Wall St buoyed by consumer stock gains
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - A gauge of stocks across the
globe ticked up on Monday, with Wall Street buoyed by consumer
stocks and Europe up on a positive view of the auto industry.
Oil prices fell as Iran dashed hopes of a coordinated
production freeze any time soon, returning the focus to the
crude supply glut that has sent prices crashing.
Attention switches this week to policy decisions from the
Bank of Japan (BOJ), the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of
England, among others. They follow last week's interest rate
cut, asset-purchase program extension and new cheap loans for
banks pledge at the European Central Bank.
The Fed, which ends its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday,
has said it is on track to raise rates gradually in 2016, but
doing so will hinge on the health of the economy. Recent data
has shown above-forecast jobs creation but wage growth remains a
concern.
"If investors are inclined to make a bet, then they're
better served by waiting a few days," said Jack Ablin, chief
investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 47.19 points,
or 0.27 percent, to 17,260.5, the S&P 500 .SPX was nearly
unchanged, up 0.08 points to 2,022.27, and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 8.96 points, or 0.19 percent, to 4,757.42.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 , which had
climbed 2.7 percent on Friday, ended up 0.7 percent. MSCI's
gauge of stocks across major markets .MIWD00000PUS ticked up
0.1 percent.
The euro EUR= , which rose last week after ECB President
Mario Draghi signaled further rate cuts were unlikely, fell 0.6
percent on Monday to $1.1084. The yen was flat against the
greenback and sterling GBP= fell 0.6 percent to $1.4296. The
dollar index .DXY rose 0.5 percent.
"It seems like the market has sort of stabilized itself in
the former trading range we had before Draghi made the market
move in such a fashion," said Fabian Eliasson, vice president
for currency sales at Mizuho Corporate Bank in New York.
"I think everything this week is going to be wait-and-see
until Wednesday, leading up to the Fed decision," he said.
The Russian rouble strengthened briefly against the
greenback RBL= after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he
was instructing his armed forces to start pulling out of Syria,
over five months after he ordered the launch of a military
operation.
Brent crude oil LCOc1 , whose rise has helped buoy stocks
in recent weeks, fell below $40 a barrel, as U.S. crude
stockpiles continue to mount and Iran maintained little interest
in a global production freeze.
"We feel that the bulk of this stronger than expected 5-6
week price advance has been seen and that prices will be
shifting into a near term consolidation phase," said Jim
Ritterbusch of Chicago energy consultancy Ritterbusch &
Associates.
Brent last traded at $39.68, down 1.8 percent. U.S. crude
fell 3.1 percent to $37.31 per barrel.
The benchmark 10-year note US10YT=RR rose 4/32 in price to
yield 1.9627 percent from 1.977 percent on Friday.
Spot gold XAU fell 0.9 percent, last trading at $1,236.