Gold up

Bengaluru: Gold was slightly higher in early trade on Tuesday, having shed half a percent in the previous session, ahead of the start of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting in the United States.

Spot gold was up about 0.1 percent at $1,242.72 an ounce by 0049 GMT, after losing 0.5 percent on Monday. U.S. gold futures were 0.2 percent lower at $1,244.40. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 93.925. The dollar was unchanged at 113.56 yen.

Asian shares were trying to string together a fourth session of gains on Tuesday as optimism about global growth looked set to outlast an almost certain hike in U.S. borrowing costs this week. U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver a speech on the plan to overhaul the nation´s tax code on Wednesday, the White House said on Monday.