April gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $4 an ounce lower Tuesday, 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 8 cents an ounce. Spot gold fell in overseas trading largely due to profit-taking, said London-based analysts. At 7:53 a.m. EST, spot gold was trading down $3.45 to $988.35. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.2772 from $1.2693 late Monday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the March S&P 500 futures are up 7.10 points to 751.80. April crude oil is up 9 cents to $38.53 a barrel in overnight activity. U.S. economic events Tuesday include: - the December Case-Shiller Home Price Index due out at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT); - the Conference Board's February Consumer Confidence Index at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), forecast to fall to 35.5 from 37.7 the prior month; - an appearance by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT); and - the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT). In New York Monday, a slump in equities triggered bargain hunting that enabled gold futures to pare sharp early-day profit-taking losses. April gold fell $7.20 to $995 an ounce. March silver likewise recovered with gold and finished with a loss of 4 cents to $14.45. Comex gold warehouse stocks were up 9,211ounces at 8,467,695 ounces Monday, while silver stocks were down 412,307 ounces at 124,330,923 ounces.

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