Nov 11 (Reuters) - Gold was broadly steady early Friday, after dropping nearly 1.5 percent in the previous session, as markets pondered the economic growth outlook and the timing of a U.S. interest rate hike following the election of Donald Trump.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up about 0.2 percent at $1,261.71 an ounce at 0038 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were down 0.4 percent at $1,261.50 per ounce.
* Asian shares dipped while the dollar strengthened broadly on Friday as U.S. bond yields soared on expectations U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies would stoke inflation. MKTS/GLOB
* The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was steady at 98.856.
* The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, underscoring the robustness of the labor market. The Republican sweep of the White House and Congress could break the current gridlock over national policy in a potential boon to the U.S. economy, St. Louis Federal Reserve bank president James Bullard said on Thursday. The Federal Reserve could raise interest rates more quickly if Washington used lower taxes or higher spending to boost economic growth, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Thursday. Investors are starting to price in a slim chance that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates next year for the first time since 2011, with bets reinforced by sharply rising inflation expectations on Thursday. SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 1.40 percent to 941.68 tonnes on Thursday from 955.03 tonnes on Wednesday.
* India's surprise move to abolish high-value bank notes has started to disrupt cash-based gold smuggling and should benefit official importers of the metal in the world's second biggest consumer, industry officials said. For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
1500 U.S.
University of Michigan sentiment index
Nov