Gold traded little changed in Asia as a rally in global equities reduced the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Asian stocks gained for a third day, led by financial and commodity companies, on optimism bank earnings will recover and as copper jumped. Equity indexes gained in Europe and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed as much as 2.4 percent yesterday to the highest intra-day level in almost three weeks. The euro is trading near a five-week high against the dollar. Bullion has fallen 2.2 percent this month as the benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 2.5 percent. “Gold hasn’t changed much in Asia as a stronger euro and gains in equities reduced the attraction of the metal as a safe- haven asset,” said Hwang Il Doo, general manager at the international marketing division of Korea Exchange Bank Futures Co. in Seoul. “Although the trend for gold is bullish in the longer term, it will remain weak and unstable in near term.” Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $921.70 an ounce at noon Seoul time, after losing 0.7 percent yesterday. The euro gained after a newspaper reported European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark said there was limited room for interest-rate cuts. The currency traded at $1.3006 at noon. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, advanced 1.2 percent to a record 1,069.05 metric tons yesterday from March 13, according to figures on the company’s Web site. Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver was up 0.2 percent at $12.9487 an ounce at 12:05 p.m. Seoul time and platinum gained 0.4 percent to $1,062 an ounce.

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