Gold prices further advanced on high investment fund demand in Asia and the Middle East. Gold in London closed at $536 per troy ounce, up from $529.30. In Zurich the precious metal rose to $538.03 from $529.45. In Hong Kong gold climbed $12.40 to close at $535.15. Silver opened at $9.07, up from $9.

The U.S. dollar declined against the major currencies. In European trading the euro was quoted at $1.1948, up from $1.1815. The dollar bought 120.03 yen, down from 120.64. The British pound stood at $1.7705, up from $1.7543.

EARNINGS NEWS

Ingles Markets Inc (MKTA: chart), retailer, posted Q4 earnings of 39 cents a share, down from 45 cents a share in the same period last year on the absence of real estate sales in the latest quarter. Sales advanced to $590.2 million from $544.9 million.

Tutogen Medical Inc (TTG: chart), maker of sterile biological implants, reported net loss for fiscal 2005 is 42 cents a share, down from net income of 9 cents in fiscal 2004 despite 9% revenue growth If not for one-time costs, the net loss would have been 21 cents a share.

Bakers Footwear Group (BKRS: chart), shoe retailer''s stock, posted a Q3 loss of 17 cents a share, up from a loss of 51 cents a share in the year-ago period, missing analyst estimate of 2 cents a share. Sales for Q3 advanced 34%, while same-store sales rose 21%.