CHICAGO, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled higher Wednesday for the first time in three sessions, inversely tracking a fall in U.S. stocks and other assets that tend to gain in times of growing appetite for risk.
The most active gold contract for August delivery went up 3.8 dollars, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 1,286.3 dollars per ounce.
As of 1745 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 336.10 points, or 1.31 percent. The S&P 500 Index went down 30.24 points, or 1.08 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 84.61 points, or 1.11 percent.
Gold usually moves in opposite directions with the U.S. equities. When the stock markets were on the rise, investors may stop buying safe-haven assets, such as gold.
However, gold's rise was limited by the strength of greenback. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the buck against six rivals, went up 0.19 percent to 98.14 as of 1730 GMT.
Gold usually moves in opposite directions with the U.S. dollar, which means if the dollar goes strong, gold futures will fall as gold, priced in U.S. dollar, becomes expensive for investors using other currencies.
As for other precious metals, silver for July delivery was up 9.1 cents, or 0.64 percent, to settle at 14.411 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery was down 5.4 dollars, or 0.68 percent, to close at 791.7 dollars per ounce. Enditem