By Matt Whittaker Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--February gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $27 an ounce lower Monday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver is expected to be down about 39 cents an ounce. At 7:58 a.m. EST, spot gold was trading $27.60 lower at $790.45 an ounce. In overnight activity, spot gold prices were trading lower in Europe Monday as equities were lower and the U.S. dollar mildly stronger against the euro. With trading conditions thin, traders said it's difficult to get a clear picture on market direction, especially following holiday-reduced trade in the U.S. after the Thanksgiving break. In other markets that could impact metals in the short term, the euro is down to $1.2632 from $1.2689 late Friday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the December S&P 500 futures are down 24 points. January crude is down $2.72. U.S. economic reports on Monday include: - November ISM manufacturing index at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), with the manufacturing business index expected at 36.5; - October construction spending at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), with new construction expected down 1%. In New York Friday, gold futures rose in holiday-thinned trading Friday, supported by safe-haven buying and short covering. February gold rose $7.70 to settle at $819. March silver fell 3.9 cents to settle at $10.23. Comex gold warehouse stocks were unchanged at 8,516,845 ounces Friday, while silver stocks were down 10,514 ounces at 128,590,217 ounces. -By Matt Whittaker, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5959; matt.whittaker@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=cyyj%2Fj9l%2Faz7taM%2FBIG0ZQ%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires

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