PRECIOUS-Gold steadies as equities ease on Brexit anxiety, palladium soars

* HK risks becoming new flashpoint in U.S.-China relations
* SPDR Gold Holdings fell on Tuesday, still near 3-year
highs
* Brexit summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday
* Palladium hits record high of $1,751.08/oz

(Updates prices)
By Sumita Layek
Oct 16 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Wednesday after
dropping nearly 1% in the previous session, as European stocks
slipped on uncertainties surrounding Britain's departure from
the European Union, while palladium hit a new high on tight
supplies.
Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,481.05 per ounce
at 1209 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.1% to $1,484.80.
"The euro is firmer against the U.S. dollar, stock markets
came back a little bit too, which seems related to the Brexit
talks after the euphoria yesterday, but there still are some
risks in these talks," said Quantitative Commodity Research
analyst Peter Fertig. USD/
"The developments in the U.S.-China trade talks (are) again
much ado about nothing, it is at best a ceasefire, but not
really a trade agreement ... so economic uncertainties are still
quite high and should be supportive for gold."
Last-ditch talks between Britain and the EU to get a Brexit
deal that went on past midnight to Wednesday were
"constructive", but it was still unclear if London could avoid
postponing its departure due on Oct. 31. Market participants are now awaiting the outcome of the
Brexit summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday that will
determine whether Britain is headed for a deal to leave the bloc
on the due date, a disorderly no-deal exit or a delay.
Souring ties between the United States and China, the U.S.
House of Representatives on Tuesday passed four pieces of
legislation taking a hard line on Beijing, three related to
pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, drawing opposition from
China. "Given some of these recent developments, it does appear
that the trade deal is more elusive. However, there is strong
impetus from both sides to arrive at some sort of a deal over
the coming months," said Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM.
European equities opened lower and sterling came off
five-month highs as the EU and Britain resumed talks in
Brussels. MKTS/GLOB USD/
Indicative of sentiment, holdings of the world's largest
gold-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Shares GLD , fell on Tuesday to
919.66 tonnes, but held close to their highest in nearly three
years. GOL/ETF
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= rose 1% to $1,749.91 an ounce,
after hitting a record high of $1,751.08 earlier.
The metal used in vehicle exhausts to reduce harmful
emissions has climbed about 39% so far this year on a sustained
supply crunch.
The next resistance for the metal was around the $1,753.57
level, Commerzbank analysts said in a weekly technicals note.
Silver XAG= fell 0.7% to $17.25 per ounce and platinum
XPT= slipped 1.3% to $877.31.