Gold prices inched down on Friday after two days of gains, but risk-averse sentiment in the market capped the safe-haven metal’s losses.

Gold Futures for April delivery on New York’s COMEX inched down 0.1% to $1,577.95 by 12:59 AM ET (04:59 GMT). The yellow metal eased from an over one-week peak, but is still set to report a weekly gain.

“Equities market has shrugged off the bearish sentiment and has started to move higher as investors are reassessing the potential (economic) impact of the virus,” Margaret Yang Yan, a market analyst at CMC Markets said.

Asian equities traded mostly higher today, with Chinese and Hong Kong stocks up about 0.3%.

However, concerns surrounding the virus remained as the death toll in China’s Hubei province rose by 116 today, with the total number of cases up by nearly 5,000.

Adding to the geo-political tensions in the Middle East, the head of the Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami said on Thursday that the country is ready to strike the US and Israel if they make an "error."

“If you make the slightest error, we will hit both of you,” he said, according to Reuters