Asian stocks fell, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declining more than 1.5 percent after a steady start, as cautious views on the global economy curbed risk sentiment.
Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,193.80 as of 0748 GMT, after declining about 0.3 percent in the previous session. U.S. gold futures were 0.5 percent higher at $1,197.60 an ounce.
“Gold has been nudging higher as risk has been trading a bit unsettled in Asia,” said Stephen Innes, APAC trading head at OANDA in Singapore.
Optimism surrounding a last-minute deal between the United States and Canada on Sunday to salvage NAFTA as a trilateral pact with Mexico, had increased the appetite for riskier assets on Monday.
