NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - COMEX gold prices ended lower on Wednesday, pressured by gains in U.S. equities and by players exiting long positions on signs the market was overbought, traders said.
U.S. stock markets held modest gains near the time gold futures closed. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 58 points at 8,427, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 26 points to 1,326, following strong quarterly results from semiconductor companies.
"Like many markets, gold has become so reactive to stock markets, which is reacting to data, that it's so easy to derail otherwise technical signals," a broker said.
December gold slipped $1.20 to finish at $316.90 an ounce, in a $316.40 to $318.20 an ounce range. COMEX put Wednesday's final gold volume at 23,000 lots, compared with 35,395 contracts.
Spot gold was quoted lower at $316.20/6.70 an ounce, down from Tuesday's close at $317.45/7.95. London dealers fixed Wednesday's spot reference price at $316.55 an ounce.
Though stocks gained, investors remained on edge following Tuesday's bleak consumer confidence data, which analysts said increased chances of an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets next week.
On Thursday, a first look at third quarter GDP is expected to show growth picked up at a faster clip, while on Friday, labor report and manufacturing data are expected to be disappointing for the economy.
Traders expects securities, and gold too, to be in a holding pattern until all the data are out.
The dollar made little movement on Wednesday, and was expected to remain steady at least until GDP figures. But, players are looking primarily to current jobs data for conclusive evidence about whether the Fed plans to cut rates.
If so, the dollar may fall against Europe on interest rate differentials and provide dollar-denominated gold with a lift as Europeans try to capture a currency advantage.
Chartists said they expected technical considerations to also confine gold. They said resistance around $319.20 an ounce should cap December gold's upside. A test of $314.50 was possible as near support.
One trader predicted gold would hold in a range, with greater risk of an upside break. He said he saw resistance at intermittent highs on December gold, including $319.20, $321.30, and at $328 an ounce.
Silver improved for the first half of the session as speculators who were short silver exited their positions and bought silver on Wednesday, despite gold's losses.
December silver gave back all its gains for the session and more to close 2.5 cents lower at $4.485, in a range running from $4.455-$4.54 an ounce.
Spot silver was quoted late at $4.47-$4.49 an ounce, just under Tuesday's late price of $4.49/51. Silver was fixed late in London at $4.4775 an ounce.
NYMEX January platinum fell $1.80 to settle at $586.90 an ounce. Spot platinum was quoted lower at $589/594.
December palladium slipped $3.50 to end at $312.50 an ounce. Spot palladium eased to $308/320 an ounce in Wednesday.