PRECIOUS-Gold drops as trade deal hopes boost Wall Street to record

(Updates prices)
* Gold drops for five sessions in six
* Wall Street notches record peak at open
* Palladium hits record high of $1,834.76 an ounce
* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl

By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
Nov 27 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Wednesday as equities
climbed to record levels bolstered by hopes that the United
States and China were close to signing an initial trade deal and
by the release of robust U.S. economic data.
Spot gold XAU= dipped 0.5% to $1,454.41 per ounce as of
02:03 p.m. ET (1903 GMT), slipping five sessions in six.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled 0.5% lower at $1,453 per
ounce.
"Given the situation, the statements from the White House
that the U.S.- China trade deal may be imminent is continuing to
drive risk appetite a bit higher," said Bart Melek, head of
commodity strategies at TD Securities.
"There is less interest in gold as a hedge, and a higher
opportunity cost to hold zero yielding assets like gold."
Wall Street hit fresh record levels on Wednesday while world
shares .MIWD00000PUS were close to notching a record peak in
the session after U.S. President Donald Trump said the world's
two largest economies were in the "final throes" of signing an
initial trade deal. .N Market confidence was buoyant and investors moved away from
safe-haven gold. The CBOE VIX equity volatility index .VIX ,
often referred to as a fear gauge, was at seven-month lows.
The absence of signs of further monetary policy easing in
the near term by the U.S. Federal Reserve did little to support
gold. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday that monetary
policy was "well positioned" to support the strong U.S. labour
market. Higher interest rates boost the dollar, making
dollar-denominated gold more expensive for buyers using other
currencies, and they reduce investor interest in non-yielding
bullion.
U.S. economic growth picked up slightly in the third
quarter, rather than slowing as initially reported, assuring
markets that the world's largest economy was healthy despite
fears of the impact of the long-drawn trade war. jobless claims also declined, while core capital
goods ordered posted their biggest gain in nine months. "Gold remains range-bound with hard support sitting toward
$1,445-$1,450... While top-side resistance cuts in toward
$1,475-$1.480," analysts at MKS PAMP said in a note.
Palladium XPD= jumped 1.1% to $1,830.00 an ounce, after
hitting a record high of $1,834.76 in the session
Silver XAG= dropped 0.6% to $16.96 per ounce, platinum
XPT= slipped 1.5% to $893.94.