Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD turns lower from 5-day SMA even as S&P 500 futures drop

• Gold faces rejection at the descending 5-day SMA hurdle. 
• Risk sentiment sours amid vaccine doubts but fails to boost the yellow metal. 

Gold is struggling to draw bids despite the losses in the US stock futures and doubts about a coronavirus vaccine. 

The yellow metal is currently trading largely unchanged on the day near $1,809, having faced rejection at the descending 5-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of $1,813 early Friday. The S&P 500 futures are down over 0.30%. 

British drugmaker AstraZeneca's low-cost vaccine is now facing intense scrutiny, with scientists raising doubts about the robustness of results showing the shot was 90% effective. As such, the approval of the vaccine could be delayed. 

Coupled with renewed signs of weakness in the US labor market, that looks to weighing over the S&P 500 futures and Asian stocks. So far, however, haven demand for gold has remained elusive. 

The yellow metal is down over 3.5% this month, as positive results of several experimental coronavirus vaccines triggered hopes for a swift global economic recovery and pushed anti-risk assets lower. 

Technical levels