Investing.com - Gold prices edged up on Thursday as investors continues to see the risk asset as favorable even as global stock markets post gains on expectations of higher U.S. growth with record levels in the U.S. overnight and the Dow above 20,000.
Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up 0.08% to $1,198.70 a troy ounce.
Demand hopes were lifted by a flurry of executive actions on immigration and regulations that affect business by President Donald Trump helped lift the Dow Jones index above 20,000 on Wednesday.
Trump also cleared the way for two controversial pipelines on Tuesday, making it easier for TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline and for Energy Transfer Partners to build the final portion of the Dakota Access pipeline.
A weaker dollar also aid sentiment for gold, which is priced in greenbacks.
Overnight, gold prices fell on Wednesday in the U.S. as investors race into shares and get set for expected rate hikes by the Fed this year and potential tax cuts and higher spending under the administration led by President Donald Trump.
Share indexes reached record levels and the dollar weakened on concerns that Trump's trade policies and embattled political style will hurt the greenback.
Still, investors are also turning more optimistic as Trump begins to offer more details of his policies such as signing two executive orders on Tuesday to move forward with construction of the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, rolling back key Obama administration environmental actions in favor of expanding energy infrastructure.
But concerns over his protectionist stance remain after Trump signed to formally withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with leaders of Canada and Mexico.
Additionally, a tweet by Trump Tuesday night signaled that he would sign an executive order on Wednesday to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.Market players will continue to focus on Trump for further details on his promises of tax reform, infrastructure spending and deregulation, as well as insight regarding policies on China and the domestic economy.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures dipped 0.33% to $2.706 a pound.