Gold, U.S. stocks bounce after rout but oil falters

By Leah Schnurr

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold and U.S. stocks rebounded on Tuesday as the previous session's sell-off lured buyers into the market but demand concerns sent oil below $100 a barrel for the first time in nine months.

The broad rout in commodities and stocks seen in recent sessions was triggered by weak data from China and the United States that have sparked fresh concerns about the strength of the global economy's recovery.

Gold has fallen about 20 percent so far this year after an unbroken 12 years of gains and is down some 28 percent from the record high hit in September 2011 of $1,920.30 an ounce.

Spot gold lost more than 8 percent on Monday alone and had dropped further, to $1,321.35, earlier on Tuesday before reversing direction to be up 2.6 percent at $1,387.76.

"I think everyone has to take a breath now ... but there are people who still want to sell and they haven't done so yet," said David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron.

Analysts have cited various reasons for gold's latest slump, including funds switching out of bullion and the possibility that other central banks in Europe could use Cyprus's bailout plans to sell excess gold reserves as a reason to sell some of their own holdings.

Stocks on Wall Street also recovered some ground to rise nearly 1 percent by late morning, helped in part by a drop in U.S. consumer prices last month that left room for the Federal Reserve to keep up its economic stimulus efforts.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 103.26 points, or 0.71 percent, to 14,702.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 13.32 points, or 0.86 percent, to 1,565.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> climbed 30.63 points, or 0.95 percent, to 3,247.12.

Separate data showed U.S. factory output declined in March, while permits for future housing construction tumbled. Data at the start of the year had been generally upbeat, pointing to an acceleration in economic growth in the first quarter, but recent reports have suggested the recovery hit a soft patch heading into the spring.

Investors were also taking in a batch of earnings reports from U.S. companies including Coca-Cola , which reported better-than-expected profit that sent its shares up more than 5 percent.

MSCI's global share index <.miwd00000pus>, which tracks around 9,000 stocks in 45 countries, was up 0.3 percent, having been almost 0.5 percent lower earlier in the day. The FTSEurofirst 300 <.fteu3> was off 0.7 percent.

Oil continued to languish, with Brent crude falling below $100 a barrel for the first time in nine months as concerns persisted over the outlook for demand. Brent crude was down $1.73 at $98.90, while U.S. crude lost 95 cents to $87.76.

"Somewhat disappointing Chinese GDP data yesterday might have contributed to the bearish sentiment in the oil futures markets," analysts at JBC Energy said.

"However ... Monday's sell-off across virtually all commodities and equities markets and the extent of losses in some markets is difficult to justify on fundamental grounds solely, with herd behavior and momentum trading contributing," JBC Energy said.

(Additional reporting by Marc Jones and Veronica Brown in London; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yen-firms-risk-assets-brace-another-rout-000147289--finance.html

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