Gold edged higher on Thursday, extending gains from a day earlier made on a weaker dollar versus the euro and firming physical demand from top consumer India ahead of a key gold-buying festival.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Gold was at $891.65 per ounce at 0005 GMT, up 0.3 percent from the notional close in New York of $889.15. On Wednesday, it rose 0.8 percent. [GOL/]
* Gold last closed above $900 on April 2 and has since failed to clear that level decisively.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust , said holdings remain unchanged at 1,105.98 tonnes as of April 22. [GOL/SPDR]
* Newcrest Mining Ltd , Australia's largest listed gold miner, said its gold output in the quarter to March was 5 percent down on the previous quarter. [ID:nSYU006377]
MARKET NEWS
* The yen slipped broadly on Thursday after climbing to a three-week high versus the dollar the previous day when a fall in U.S. stocks and disappointing earnings from Morgan Stanley made investors wary of the banking sector. [USD/]
* Japan's Nikkei stock average was flat. [.T]
* The Dow and S&P fell on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley posted its second straight quarterly loss and slashed its dividend, reviving concerns about the banking sector and the wider economy [.N]
* Oil prices rose on Wednesday as gains in the stock market outweighed rising inventories in top consumer the United States.
