Gold futures close lower as stocks rally

CHICAGO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled lower on Thursday under pressure from rebounding equities.

The most active gold contract for April delivery fell 2.7 dollars, or 0.20 percent, to close at 1355.30 dollars per ounce.

Following a period of turbulence, the stock market firmly rebounded with the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 170.88 points, or 0.69 percent to reach 25,064.37 points as of 1823 GMT.

The two other main benchmarks, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index, also saw increases.

The precious metal had experienced three consecutive rising sessions this week. Amid strong rally in stocks market, the gold futures failed to continue the upturn despite of a weakening dollar.

Analysts said that a significant rally in equities would lure investments from gold market, as investors do not necessarily look for safe heaven such as the precious metal.

But a weakening dollar managed to limit the fall of gold. The U.S. dollar index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, went down 0.22 percent to 88.81 as of 1812 GMT.

As for other precious metals, silver for March delivery fell 8.2 cents, or 0.49 percent, to settle at 16.796 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April went up 2 dollars, or 0.20 percent, to close at 1,001.10 dollars per ounce. Enditem