* Gold hits 9th record high this year
* Spanish, Italian bond yields hit multiyear highs
* MSCI global stocks turn negative for the year (Updates prices)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices hit a record high and global stocks turned negative for the year on Tuesday as investors focused on slowing global economic growth and the euro zone's spreading credit problems.
Markets moved on from Monday's vote by the House of Representatives approving a rise in the U.S. statutory borrowing limit. The U.S. Senate is expected to pass the measure later on Tuesday, but fear that the United States could still lose its triple-A credit rating persisted. For details see [ID:nN1E76U0F5].
U.S. consumer spending dropped in June for the first time in nearly two years, adding to worries the world's largest economy would remain stagnant in the third quarter. [ID:nN1E7710A7]
"With the debt ceiling almost in the rear view mirror, the market has turned its attention to peripheral spreads in Europe, which are widening despite efforts by the (European Union) to contain the crisis," said Steve Van Order, fixed income strategist with Bethesda, Maryland-based Calvert Investment Management Inc, which has more than $14.5 billion in assets under management.
The preference for safe-haven assets helped lift gold to its ninth record high this year. Spot gold
U.S. Treasuries rose for a fourth straight day, with the benchmark 10-year note
On Wall Street, the broad S&P 500 index <.SPX> fell 1 percent and was down for a seventh straight day on economic fears and worry that the debt ceiling agreement does not do enough to satisfy credit rating agencies. A credit downgrade could increase Treasury yields and raise borrowing costs.
"There's been no clear direction given about how these issues will ultimately be resolved, which is another reason the market is concerned," said Kenneth Buckfire, chief executive officer at Miller Buckfire in New York. "The growth prospects of the U.S. are limited."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 106.94 points, or 0.88 percent, at 12,025.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 14.62 points, or 1.14 percent, at 1,272.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 25.37 points, or 0.92 percent, at 2,719.24.
MSCI's world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 1.4 percent on the day to its weakest since late June and edged 0.2 percent lower for the year so far.
European stocks <.FTEU3> fell 1.6 percent and Italian shares <.FTMIB> tumbled 2.7 percent.
"The fear of the market is that the world is going into recession again ... and in the euro zone the peripheral markets are the ones that will suffer most," said Alessandro Giansanti, strategist at ING in Amsterdam.
Italian bond yields hit their highest level in the euro's 11-year lifetime, a sign that Rome is overtaking Madrid as the main focus of investors' concern about debt sustainability. For details see [ID:nL6E7J21QN].
The Italian 10-year BTP yield was up 6.146 percent
The two countries have been under increased pressure in recent weeks as markets feel the size of the euro zone's bailout fund is too small to protect larger fringe economies if contagion from the Greek crisis cannot be stopped.
The Swiss franc rose to a record high against the euro and held close to a record versus the dollar on concerns about euro zone sovereign debt problems.
The euro pared losses against the greenback after the weak U.S. spending data, and later turned positive. (Additional reporting by Ellen Freilich and Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Dan Grebler)