PRECIOUS-Gold dips as firm equities weigh, investors await U.S. jobs data

(Adds quote, details, updates prices)
* Gold to retest resistance at $1,435/oz - technicals
* Traders expect U.S. Fed to cut rates at end-July

By Harshith Aranya and Eileen Soreng
July 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Thursday due
to an uptick in the stock markets, while investors sought
direction from upcoming U.S. non-farm payrolls data for more
cues on Federal Reserve's stance on rate cuts.
Spot gold XAU= was 0.3% lower at $1,414.07 per ounce, as
of 0731 GMT.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.3% to $1,416.9 an
ounce.
There's more interest in riskier assets, said Hareesh V,
head of commodity research at Geojit Financial Services, adding
that gold is seeing a technical correction though the broader
outlook is positive.
Gold was on track to mark its seventh week of gains, mainly
driven by global growth concerns and a dovish outlook from major
central banks.
This is a market that expects interest rate cuts, mainly in
line with expectations the European Central Bank's next chief
would stay dovish, said Helen Lau, analyst, Argonaut Securities.
"Also the U.S. 10-year yield has dropped so low that it
makes gold more appealing."
European Union leaders' nomination of IMF Chief Christine
Lagarde as Mario Draghi's replacement at the helm of the
European Central Bank reinforced expectations of monetary policy
easing in the bloc. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Christopher
Waller and Judy Shelton to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board - both
candidates are seen as dovish in their policy stance.
Falling Treasury yields and expectations of the Fed cutting
interest rates at its July 30-31 meeting weighed on the dollar,
while Asian stocks advanced tracking sharp gains on the Wall
Street. USD/ MKTS/GLOB US/N
Markets were expected to see subdued trading due to a U.S.
public holiday, analysts said.
Investors' next focus is on Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls
for June, which economists expect to have risen by 160,000 in
June, compared with 75,000 in May. "Next up for the gold rally is the U.S. employment report,
nothing short of an incredible number of jobs and wages over the
forecast will be enough to dampen the Fed interest rate cut
narrative that is keeping the yellow metal on the rise," Alfonso
Esparza, a senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.
A report by a payrolls processor ADP showed U.S. companies
added jobs in June, but fewer than what analysts had forecast,
raising concerns the labour market is softening. On the technical front, spot gold may retest a resistance at
$1,435 per ounce, leading to gains in the $1,443-$1,456 range,
according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Silver XAG= were down 0.4% at $15.24 per ounce, and
platinum XPT= fell 0.2% to $834.50 per ounce.
Palladium XPD= dipped 0.6% to $1,561.55 per ounce. The
metal touched an over three-month peak of $1,574 on Wednesday.