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Gold slumped in the absence of fresh safe-haven buying as concern about the euro-zone debt crisis abated for the moment. Gold opened the day on its high at 18250. After dipping to a low of 17916, the metal exploited weakness in the dollar to rebound near the bell. Gold continued its ascent through the day beginning a steady retreat to eventually close at 18008. Now support for the gold MCX is seen at 17866 and below could see a test of 17724. Resistance is now likely to be seen at 18200, a move above could see prices testing 18392.

Trading Ideas:

Gold trading range is 17724-18392.

Gold yesterday ended down on profit booking by traders.

According to media reports, the drugstore chain CVS is joining Walgreens in delaying the sale of home genetic testing kits because of a U. S. investigation of the manufacturer.

The Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday that CVS Caremark Corp. announced it had suspended plans to begin offering the Pathway Genomic kits in August. Walgreens had planned to begin selling the kits Friday but announced last week that plan was on hold.

He could not find any evidence the kits had been cleared by the agency, James Wood, director of patient and product safety for the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, said in a letter to the company last week.

It will trim its workforce by 6,000 people and close eight plants worldwide over five years, U. S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Global Manufacturing said on Tuesday.

The staff reduction is part of its plan to reshape its plant network following its 2009 takeover of Wyeth, The New York company said in an announcement on its Web site.

It was also reported that eight plants will be shuttered in Ireland, Puerto Rico and the United States by the end of 2015. Operations will be cut back at six other plants in Germany, Ireland, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and the United States.

With the euro slipping against the U. S. dollar, crude oil prices fell to nearly $69 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

It has been reported that the euro hit a four-year low against the dollar Monday, fell again Tuesday to $1.2213. The dollar index, which measures the U. S. dollar against six major currencies with a pro-rated formula, rose 1.09 percent Tuesday.

It was also reported that the euro has fallen 8 percent against the dollar in the past month. Oil prices, meanwhile, have fallen 19 percent off the year's high above $86 per barrel.

A Canadian researcher has suggested that as men age, their dropping testosterone levels, 2 percent a year, affect their ability to have deep sleep.

It has been reported that Zoran Sekerovic, a graduate student at the University of Montreal, discovered a link between testosterone levels in men age 50 and older and their quality of sleep, while under the supervision of Julie Carrier, a professor of psychology at the University of Montreal and director of the Chronobiology Laboratory at the Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal.

Deep sleep, Phases III and IV of the slumber cycle, is when recuperation of body and mind is optimal, Sekerovic has said.

U. S. researchers have said that women age 45 and older may help decrease their risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease if they take vitamin E long-term.

Anne Hermetet Agler, a doctoral candidate with Cornell University, says in a statement, "As lung disease develops, damage occurs to sensitive tissues through several proposed processes, including inflammation and damage from free radicals. Vitamin E may protect the lung against such damage."