* Traders take to sidelines ahead of Friday jobs data
* Palladium seen falling further in 2015 - ABN Amro
* GRAPHIC-Asset returns: http://link.reuters.com/dub25t (Updates prices; adds comment, second byline, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
By Marcy Nicholson and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Wednesday as a rebound in stocks and the dollar arrested a four-day rise, with uncertainty over the timing of a looming U.S. rate hike limiting price moves ahead of key U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday.
The metal retreated from early highs as global stock indexes recovered some of their recent losses, drawing support from reports of brokerage measures in China to invigorate the country's battered markets. MKTS/GLOB
Gold also came under pressure from the 0.5 percent rise of the dollar index .DXY . FRX/
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.5 percent at $1,134 an ounce at 2:48 p.m. EDT (1848 GMT), while U.S. gold futures GCv1 for December delivery settled down 0.5 percent at $1,133.60.
"We have to wait until we actually see the payrolls numbers this Friday," Capital Economics analyst Simona Gambarini said. "We don't really expect much movement in the gold price (ahead of that). Investors are just waiting on the sidelines to see what the Fed will decide."
Traders remain wary of taking up fresh positions until they receive more clarity on when the Fed will press ahead with its first rate hike in nearly a decade.
Low interest rates cut the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while also pressuring the dollar.
The Fed has pegged the likelihood of a rate rise to the strength of U.S. data. The August U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday is being closely watched, Mitsubishi analyst Jonathan Butler said.
"Attention will inevitably turn to the fact that December is now looking the most likely for lift-off on rates, and maybe the market will start to price that in," he said.
Data on Wednesday suggested that labor market momentum likely remains strong enough for the Fed to consider an interest rate hike this year. ID:nL1N1180PF
Of the precious metals, palladium XPD= has been the most volatile and rose 3.4 percent to a session high at $586.50 an ounce after Tuesday's 5.3 percent tumble.
ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said in a note that palladium prices should drop further this year, forecasting $525 at the end of 2015, though downward pressure was seen easing.
"Autocatalyst demand from emerging markets, especially China and Brazil, will remain weak. We expect the trend in weaker car sales in China to continue into the first half of 2016," Boele said.
Among other precious metals, silver XAG= was up 0.5 percent at $14.64 an ounce and platinum XPT= was up 1 percent at $1,010.24.