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SINGAPORE, Oct 13 (Reuters) Gold briefly rose above $579 an an ounce on Friday before slipping as a rally in Asian stock markets robbed the metal of some of its appeal as an alternative investment.

Spot gold hit a high of $579.45, just below key resistance of $580, buoyed by firm oil prices.

It slipped to $577.90/578.90 by 0605 GMT, down slightly from $578.10/579.10 late in New York.

Gold has breached $580 twice this week but has failed to stay above that level. Some dealers said the metal would trade in the short term between $560 and $580 and in the longer term between $560 and $620.

''It seems the stock market is more attractive than gold. I think the market still wants to trade in a range. Some big guys are slightly bearish on gold,'' said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

Asian stock markets powered ahead on Friday, with Singapore <.sti> at a record high and Hong Kong <.hsi> hitting a six-year peak, aided by a record close on Wall Street.

Better-than-expected earnings from major U.S. companies such as McDonald's Corp. helped ease worries about the world's biggest economy and diminishing fears about North Korea's nuclear test further underpinned sentiment.

Purchases from jewellers and investors had resurfaced this week at around $575 an ounce, said Leung, but consumers were sidelined on Friday.

''It seems $565 and $560 are very good support,'' he said.

Gold has lost more than 20 percent in value since rallying to a 26-year high of $730 in mid-May.

StreetTRACKS Gold shares , Asia's first gold-based exchange-traded fund, which started trading on Wednesday, slipped 0.17 percent to $57.60 on volume of 2,920 shares.

Benchmark gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange , currently August 2007, rose nine yen per gram to 2,238 yen on the back of firmer oil.

U.S. crude oil futures extended gains to hover above $58 a barrel after U.S. government data showed a fall in stocks of winter heating fuel.

On Thursday, oil hit a low of $57.22, the lowest since last December, before settling higher. Dealers are focused on OPEC's indecision over a plan to cut output.

The dollar eased against the euro and moved away from a 10-month high against the yen after St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said he saw more risks of a growth slowdown than faster inflation.

The dollar slipped to 119.33 yen from near 119.40 yen in late New York trade. The euro rose to $1.2565 from $1.2555.

Platinum traded near a six-month low despite buying interest from jewellers and auto makers.

Platinum hit an intraday high of $1,074 an ounce before slipping to $1,067/1,072, down from New York's $1,069/1,074.

Persistent selling in Japanese futures dragged down the spot price to $1,060 on Wednesday, its lowest since early April.

''Japanese investors have been selling platinum in TOCOM because of weakness in the gold price. They don't seem to understand there's actually good demand from jewellers and auto makers,'' said a dealer in Tokyo.

''But I am sure platinum will recover even faster than gold because we have this autumn demand ahead of Christmas. I would say $1,060 will be the bottom price,'' he said.

Platinum, used in jewellery and auto catalysts, spiked to a record high of $1,336 in mid-May as investors diversified into precious metals.

Palladium rose to $305/310 an ounce from $303/308 in New York.

Silver edged down to $11.31/11.36 an ounce from $11.32/11.39 late in New York.

REUTERS CS KN1345