PRECIOUS-Gold firms but stocks and dollar eyed, ETF unchanged

                                
 TOKYO, April 1 (Reuters) - Gold held firm on Wednesday
after ending the first quarter up 4 percent, but investors
remained cautious about the risk that bullion could be
pressured by stock market gains and the dollar's strength.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Gold <XAU=> was $919.25 an ounce as of 0005 GMT, up 0.2
percent from New York's notional close of $917.15 on Tuesday.
Gold prices rose slightly on Tuesday but easing worries about
financial markets were likely to undermine sentiment ahead of a
meeting of G20 leaders.
                                
 * At the end of the first quarter, gold was up more than 4
percent since the end of last year, but it is still down about
9 percent from the 11-month high above $1,000 struck in
February.
                                
 * India, the world's largest market for gold, did not
import any for the second month running in March as high prices
dented consumer demand. [ID:nBOM457329]
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stayed unchanged at a
record 1,127.44 tonnes as of March 31, a level first reached as
of March 29. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * Nikkei was up 0.9 percent. [.T]
                                
 * U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday, driving the S&P 500 to
its best month since October 2002, as investors snapped up
top-performing bank and technology shares as the first quarter
came to an end. [.N]
                                
 * The dollar ended the first quarter on a high note on
Tuesday, posting its best performance against the yen since
December 2001, as a rally in stocks and weak economic data out
of Japan dented the Japanese currency's safe-haven allure.
[USD/]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
                                
 - German Purchasing Managers' Index for the manufacturing
sector in March (0753 GMT)
                                
 - Euro zone Markit Purchasing Managers' Index for the
manufacturing sector for March (0758 GMT)
                                
 - Euro zone jobless rate for February (0900 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. ADP March National Employment (1215 GMT)
                                
 - The Institute for Supply Management March manufacturing
index (1400 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. construction spending for February (1400 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. automakers March auto sales
                                
 RELATED NEWS > Gold ends tad higher, seen vulnerable [GOL/]
> G20 gets economic warning; Wall St climbs in March [TOPWRAP]
> GM sees bankruptcy risk; Chrysler, Fiat meet [ID:nN31405983]
> World Bank backs strong dollar, plans trade
boost[ID:nLV960479] > BOJ March tankan:manuf sentiment worst on
record[ID:nTKU103339]
                                
 PRICES
 Prices as of 0010 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30
RSI
 Spot gold     $919.80    $2.65  +0.29%    +2.54%    $860.10 
42
 Spot silver    $12.93    $0.00  +0.00%    +7.93%     $11.29 
38
 Spot plat    $1118.50   -$5.00  -0.45%    +0.58%   $1081.17 
60
 COMEX gold    $922.00    $1.60  +0.17%    +0.60%    $935.96 
46
 TOCOM gold      0,000    -2883-100.00%  -100.00%      2,935 
51
 TOCOM plat      0,000    -3505-100.00%  -100.00%      3,362 
62
 Currencies
 Euro/dlr       $1.324  -$0.001  -0.07%    +0.26%
 Dlr/yen         98.75    -0.06  -0.06%    +1.50%
 (Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Ben Tan)