AFX: Gold turns sharply higher on stock losses, panic
NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Gold reversed initial losses to trade sharply higher on Friday as plummeting stock markets triggered panic-type buying of the metal as a safe-haven during one of the worst financial crises in history.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery was up $19.60, or 2.7 percent, at $734.30 an ounce at 12:35 p.m. EDT (1635 GMT) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Spot gold hit a session high of $741.20 an ounce and was last trading at $732.60, up 1.4 percent from its Thursday's close of $722.50. In early sessions, bullion hit a 13-month low of $684.90 an ounce. (Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Keywords: MARKETS GOLD tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com ak
