Gold slides with Fed's plan

Gold prices shifted lower in New York Wednesday with the dollar stronger and equities tumbling late in the day on a Federal Reserve Bank announcement. The Fed said it would shift its portfolio by selling $400 billion of its short-term securities and purchase $400 billion in long-term securities. The move is designed to encourage businesses to borrow, given long-term loans will be cheaper. The move did not sit well with equity investors, the Dow Jones industrial average giving up 283 points mostly in late afternoon trading. Gold prices gave up $26.50 to reach $1,782.60 per troy ounce. The dollar index rose 0.77 percent. The euro fell to $1.3571 from Monday's $1.3701. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 76.63 yen from Monday's 76.45 yen. The British pound fell to $1.5501 from $1.5735. The U.S. standard was 7.7928 Hong Kong dollars from Tuesday's 7.7897 Hong Kong dollars. The U.S. dollar rose to 1.00081 Canadian dollars from 0.9926 Canadian. The Australian dollar fell to $1.005 from Tuesday's $1.0275.