Gold rises as stocks slide

NEW YORK, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The price of gold rose in New York Wednesday as equities slid for a second consecutive trading session.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold gained $19.40 cents to $1,777.90. Silver added 24 cents to $34.51 per ounce.

The euro rose to $1.3248 from Tuesday's $1.3236. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 80.24 yen from 79.75 yen.

The dollar was mostly higher in Asia and mixed in Europe. The dollar index, a prorated measure of the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.14 percent to 79.20.

The British pound fell to $1.5669 from $1.5779. Against the Hong Kong dollar, the dollar fell to 7.7538 from 7.754.

The dollar rose to 0.9997 Canadian dollars from Tuesday's 0.9969. The Australian dollar fell to $1.0633 from Tuesday's $1.0662.