• S&P 500, Dow end lower
• European shares finish down
• Gold prices reach new highs
• Brent crude settle nearly 2% higher
• Dollar index gains

NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Global equity markets lost ground on Monday as traders remained cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty overthe U.S. presidential election, helping to push gold futures to new highs.

The Israeli military is continuing its attacks against Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, with hundreds of Beirut residents fleeing their homes late on Sunday as explosions rocked the Lebanese capital.

Gold prices surged to a record high on Monday and were little changed at $2,719.33 an ounce . U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% higher at $2,738.9.

The benchmark S&P 500 and Dow finished lower, with defensive stocks including real estate and healthcare among the leading drags. The Nasdaq closed slightly stronger, with Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab finishing at a record high, ahead of a busy week for corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 0.80%, to 42,931.60, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab fell 0.18% to 5,853.98 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab rose 0.27% to 18,540.01.

The European shares (.STOXX) , opens new tab index lost 0.66%, while MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab fell 0.37%. Overnight in Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab closed 0.5% lower.

"There's just tension around the earning season kicking off in earnest and then, of course, the elections two weeks away even though we haven't had the typical anxiety over elections that we normally see in September and October," said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management in Santa Monica, California.

Oil prices settled up nearly 2% after a more than 7% drop last week. Brent crude futures settled up 1.68% at $74.29 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 1.94% higher at $70.56 a barrel.

Markets are pricing in a 89.3% chance for a cut of 25 basis points (bps) at the Fed's November meeting, with an 10.7% chance of the central bank holding rates steady, according to CME's FedWatch Tool , opens new tab. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 11.9 basis points to 4.194%.

The dollar climbed, buoyed by a rise in U.S. bond yields. The euro was down 0.46% at $1.0815, while the pound weakened 0.51% to $1.2982. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.86% to 150.79.

The European Central Bank (ECB) last week cut rates for the third time this year. Data on Monday showed German producer prices fell more than expected in September.

The dollar index , which tracks its performance against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.49% to 103.97.

"Between the combination of escalating or still-high Middle East tensions, and we're only a handful of days away from the (U.S. election), it could be that the market is getting nervous ahead of that and people are squaring some of their positions," said Wasif Latif, president and chief investment officer at Sarmaya Partners.

Sign up here.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2024-10-21/