Sept 22 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged down on Thursday, after rising more than 1.5 percent in the prior session, as investors targeted riskier assets such as equities following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep U.S. interest rates unchanged.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2 percent at $1,333.86 an ounce by 0053 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 rose 0.5 percent to $1,338.40 an ounce.
* The U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but strongly signalled it could still tighten monetary policy by the end of this year as the labor market improved further. Asian shares look set to rise for a sixth straight session on Thursday after the Federal Reserve left U.S. rates unchanged and plotted a lower trajectory for future hikes, slugging the dollar and boosting commodity prices. MKTS/GLOB
* The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.3 percent to 95.393.
* The Bank of Japan made an abrupt shift on Wednesday to targeting interest rates on government bonds to achieve its elusive inflation target, after years of massive money printing failed to jolt the economy out of decades-long stagnation. Employment in the euro zone is rising faster than expected and this may continue, but at a cost to productivity and potentially to long-term economic growth, European Central Bank research showed on Wednesday. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.60 percent to 944.39 tonnes on Wednesday. GOL/ETF
* The world's biggest gold miners will stay shy of big acquisitions, top executives said this week, noting that a jump in the price of bullion has made potential purchases pricey, and memories of failed deals linger. For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET REPORT
* Oil prices extended gains from the previous session in Asian trading on Thursday after a surprise third consecutive weekly U.S. crude inventory draw tightened the market. O/R
DATA/EVENT AHEAD (GMT)
1230 U.S. initial jobless claims
1230 U.S. National Activity Index
0200 Eurozone Consumer confidence flash September
0200 U.S. existing home sales