* Greek anti-austerity party wins snap election
* Equities, euro recover losses after Greek vote
* CME's Hong Kong contract begins trading (Updates prices, adds comment)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Gold fell more than 1 percent on Monday as traders cashed in gains that took the metal to five-month highs last week, with the wider markets shrugging off news that an anti-austerity party had won elections in Greece.
Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras, whose Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election on Sunday, was set to become prime minister of the first euro zone government openly opposed to the bailout conditions imposed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund during the economic crisis.
Greek stocks fell on the news but the broader European share market was firmer, focusing on the positive impact of the European Central Bank's bond-buying plan unveiled last week.
Spot gold was down 1.3 percent at $1,277.41 an ounce by 1529 GMT, off an earlier low of $1,275.75. U.S. gold futures for February delivery were down $15.10 at $1,277.50.
Gold's rise to its highest price since mid-August last week left it overstretched, analysts said, and the price eased as the uncertainty surrounding the Greek election cleared.
"With the event risk out of the way, now that everyone knows what's going on in Greece sentiment has calmed somewhat," ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said. "The recovery in sentiment is hurting gold prices somewhat."
The euro and European shares and bonds shook off worries on Monday over Greek election winner Syriza's pledge to take on international lenders, a strong sign of confidence in the ECB's new money-printing programme.
The single currency hit an 11-year low against the dollar in earlier trade after the election results.
Nevertheless, gold has risen about 8 percent so far this month, largely due to safe-haven demand sparked by falling oil prices and the European uncertainties.
Improving sentiment has been seen in investor positioning. Speculators raised bullish bets on gold futures and options for a fourth week in the week ending Jan. 20, while holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds have also increased.
CME Group's Asian gold contract began trading in Hong Kong on Monday. The 1 kg physically settled contract was trading at a premium of $2-$3 an ounce over the global benchmark.
The launch of the CME contract within six months of new contracts in Singapore and China underscores a desire in top consuming region Asia to have price benchmarks that reflect regional market dynamics, although liquidity has been a problem.
Meanwhile silver was down 1.8 percent at $17.92 an ounce, while platinum was down 0.7 percent at $1,252.50 an ounce and palladium was down 0.5 percent at $766.97 an ounce. (Additional reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi in Singapore; Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich)
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