SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - - Spot gold held steady on Wednesday after hitting a record tantalisingly close to $1,500 in the previous session, as concerns over Europe's debt crisis and a weaker dollar support sentiment.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was little changed at $1,494.39 an ounce by 0035 GMT, after reaching a record high of $1,499.31 in the previous session.
* U.S. gold futures
* Concerns about sovereign debt problems on both sides of the Atlantic continued to drive investors to bullion to park their value. [ID:nLDE73I13M][ID:nN19146862]
* The dollar index weakened, as the euro and commodity currencies like the Australian dollar rose in early trade.
* Holdings in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust , eased slightly, while the holdings in the iShares Silver Trust continued to rise. [ID:nSGE73I024]
* Spot silver was little changed at $43.90, after rising to a 31-year high of $44.16 on Tuesday.
* Silver, known as the poor man's gold, is likely to rise further and outperform gold, after its stunning 40 percent run so far this year. [ID:nL3E7FI1AA]
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MARKET NEWS
* Encouraging results from health care and materials companies lifted U.S. stocks on Tuesday, but weak earnings from Goldman Sachs limited gains in a market skeptical of the growth outlook.
* U.S. crude futures
DATA/EVENTS 1400 U.S. Exist. home sales and chg Mar 1400 U.S. Existing home sales Mar
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0035 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1494.39 0.49 +0.03 5.28 Spot Silver 43.90 0.01 +0.02 42.26 Spot Platinum 1771.74 10.24 +0.58 0.24 Spot Palladium 733.47 6.52 +0.90 -8.26 TOCOM Gold 3982.00 22.00 +0.56 6.78 23607 TOCOM Platinum 4754.00 2.00 +0.04 1.24 4285 TOCOM Silver 116.70 3.30 +2.91 44.07 1176 TOCOM Palladium 1963.00 8.00 +0.41 -6.39 148 COMEX GOLD JUN1 1495.10 0.00 +0.00 5.19 2817 COMEX SILVER MAY1 43.93 0.01 +0.03 41.97 1809 Euro/Dollar 1.4360 Dollar/Yen 82.72 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months (Reporting by Rujun Shen;Editing by Clarence Fernandez)