TOKYO, May 1 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Friday in subdued
trading with many Asian markets closed for a holiday, but the
market mood remained pressured by firmer stocks on investor
optimism about the global economy.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Gold <XAU=> was at $885.95 per ounce, little changed from
New York's notional close of $885.50 on Thursday.
* U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM9> were at $887.30
per ounce, down $3.90 or 0.4 percent.
Gold fell on Thursday as better market sentiment towards the
global economy and the metal's failure to hold above $900 an
ounce tempted investors to take profits.
* With investors shifting funds to equities, the holdings of
the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, were unchanged at 1,104.45 tonnes, where they
have been since April 23. []
The trust's gold assets have fallen 23 tonnes in April from
March, against a rise of more than 98 tonnes in the preceding
four weeks.
* U.S. automaker Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy protection
after failing to reach an agreement with creditors
[], but the move should have little impact on demand
for platinum group metals used in autocatalysts, traders said.
* Spot platinum <XPT=> was at $1,101.50 an ounce, up 0.3
percent from its late Thursday quote of $1,098.00.
MARKET NEWS
* The Nikkei was up 0.6 percent. []
* U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after Chrysler's bankruptcy
filing undercut optimism about upbeat corporate profits and
reassuring job market data, but the S&P 500 closed out its best
month in nine years. []
* The dollar neared a two-week high against the yen on
Thursday and the euro also gained on the Japanese currency as
strong corporate earnings in April boosted hopes that the world's
economic slump may be easing. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday: <ECON>
- UK April manufacturing PMI is likely to rise. (0828 GMT)
- UK consumer credit for March seen rising. (0830 GMT)
- The Institute for Supply Management reports its April
manufacturing index. (1400 GMT)
- U.S. factory orders for March seen falling. (1400 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
>Chrysler files for bankruptcy; inks Fiat deal []
>Gold drops on optimism, Chrysler files Ch. 11 []
>ANALYSIS-Third gold sales pact to support gold []
>Commodities up on early Wall St gains, hogs suffer []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0005
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $885.65 $0.15 +0.02% -1.27% $860.10 44
Spot silver $12.31 -$0.03 -0.24% +2.75% $11.29 44
Spot plat $1102.50 $4.50 +0.41% +0.73% $1160.73 33
COMEX gold $886.60 -$0.50 -0.06% -1.54% $903.60 45
TOCOM gold 0,000 -2783-100.00% -100.00% 2,875 48
TOCOM plat 0,000 -3381-100.00% -100.00% 3,668 37
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.325 $0.002 +0.16% -0.12%
Dlr/yen 98.92 0.36 +0.37% +1.46%
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
