Investing.com – Gold futures moved higher in Asian trade Tuesday, bouncing back from hits taken from profit takers following the precious metal’s recent record rise above USD1,800 an ounce.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,765.05 a troy ounce during Asian mid-day trade, rising 0.5%, after hitting the day’s low of USD1,762.1
Global investors appeared ready to return to riskier assets in light of a third straight day of gains for shares on the U.S. stock market.
The Dow closed up up 1.9%, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.9%, and the S&P 500 gained 2.1% on news from Google Inc. that it would purchase Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for USD12.5 billion.
Gold fell initially in the U.S. trading session Monday, following the New York Federal Reserve Bank’s release of its index of manufacturing conditions which worsened in August, falling 3.9 points to minus 7.7, following a minus 3.8 figure in July.
The Empire State manufacturing index, which measures economic health in the manufacturing sector by surveying about 200 manufacturers in New York State, was forecast to improve slightly from July to minus 0.4.
Meanwhile, market players are expected to keep a close eye on a Tuesday meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angele Merkel in Paris, where the two leaders were expected to discuss Europe’s ongoing sovereign debt crisis.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery rose 0.75% to trade at USD39.77 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery was down 0.39% to trade at USD4.016 a pound.