Spot gold was rising in New York trading Thursday morning. Having dropped from a peak at $1,740 to $1,705, spot gold reversed course and rose to just above $1,730 per ounce, where it leveled off as of 10:30 a.m. EST. A weak weekly jobless claims report, the resignation of Steve Jobs and a tempering of the optimistic outlook regarding Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s statement tomorrow in Jackson Hole, Wyo., sent stocks downward after Thursday’s market open.

Spot gold was set at $1,729 per ounce at the London p.m. fix and was trading at $1,730.40 Bid, $1,731.40 Ask early Thursday. Fixed at $39 per ounce in the London a.m., spot silver was trading at $39.79 Bid, $39.89 Ask, having traded as high as $39.97 and as low as $39 Thursday morning.

On the exchanges, gold trusts were lower and the iShares Silver Trust was higher.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was down around 1.4%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) was around 1.5% lower.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was around 0.5% higher.

Shares of gold and silver miners ETFs were mixed.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was moving between small gains and losses.
• The Market Vector Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) was up 0.25%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was off 0.25%.

Shares of gold miners also were mixed, with Newmont Mining and NovaGold Resources moving lower.

• Agnico Eagle Mines (USA) (NYSE:AEM) was showing a gain around 0.2%.
• Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:ABX) was up 0.65%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was around 0.5% higher.
• Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) was more than 1% lower.
• NovaGold Resources (USA) (AMEX:NG) was down more than 1.1%.

Silver mining shares were heading lower.

• Coeur D’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE:CDE) was up about 0.9%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was down more than 1%.
• Pan American Silver Corp. (USA) (NASDAQ:PAAS) was down more than 1.1%.
• Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) (NYSE:SLW) was around 0.6% higher.
• Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:SSRI) was down around 0.8%.

The author does not hold positions in any of the above-mentioned investments.