Investing.com – Gold futures moved higher in Asian trade Wednesday, as sagging equity markets in Europe and the U.S. lured investors away from shakier assets and into the precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,787.15 a troy ounce during Asian mid-day trade, rising 0.01%, after hitting the day’s low of USD1,782.25.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met earlier Tuesday in Paris, but failed to convince investors that positive steps had been taken to address Europe’s ongoing debt crisis.
Shares on Wall Street ended the day lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.67%, the Nasdaq Composite Index losing 1.24%, and the S&P 500 lower by 0.97%.
European shares finished their Tuesday session mixed, with France’s CAC 40 down 0.25%, Britain’s FTSE 100 higher by 0.13%, and Germany’s DAX Index shedding 0.45%.
Further contributing to an exit from equities, was the release of figures from the European Union showing that gross domestic product in the region rose by only 0.2% in the second quarter, just under the 0.3% expected from the market.
In a separate report, German GDP showed a 0.1% expansion in the second quarter, below forecasts of a 0.5% gain and far below the previous quarter’s growth of 1.3%.
Meanwhile, holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.2% from a day earlier ,
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery fell 0.08% to trade at USD40.77 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery was lifted 0.46% to trade at USD4.011 a pound.