Expectations of interest rate cuts in the United States weakened the dollar, while oil prices plunged as weak Chinese demand expectations offset ongoing tensions in the Middle East, traders said.
Spot gold prices rose to a record high of $2,509.41 an ounce. investors They rushed into safe haven investments in the face of an increasingly likely US interest rate cut in September and heightened geopolitical risks.
“The sharp drop in bond yields amid expectations of rate cuts by the Fed” has pushed gold prices higher, said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
The top three Wall Street Indices “We’ve had big moves in the last two weeks from the low,” Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments told AFP. “And now we’re just 5% below the all-time high.” “That shows us that there’s still a lot of demand for stocks at lower prices,” he added. Weak US jobs data and a drop in demand in financial markets Interest rate hike in Japan Stock markets suffered a double whammy earlier this month as investors who had funded investments in soaring U.S. technology stocks by borrowing in weak yen faced the prospect of huge losses as the value of the Japanese unit rose.
In Asian trading, the Nikkei 225 rose 3.6 percent as the yen fell against the dollar in early trading.
London bucked the positive trend in Europe, as the strengthening of the pound hit multinationals that earn in dollars.
On the corporate front, shares in German chemicals giant Bayer rose 11.3 percent after a US court victory in the group’s long-running fight against claims its glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer.
– Oil price falls –
Oil prices fell, with the price of a barrel of Brent North Sea crude closing down 1.7 percent at $79.68 a barrel.
“The significant recovery of prices in the oil market “The banking sector has lost steam in recent days,” said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.
“On the one hand, Iran’s feared retaliatory attack (against Israel) has not materialised so far, which has probably favoured a partial depreciation of the risk premium,” he added. “In addition, new concerns about demand are weighing on the market.”
Top oil producer Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel for last month’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which has been widely blamed on Israel.
– Key figures around 20:15 GMT –
New York – Dow: up 0.2 percent and closes at 40,659.76 points
New York – S&P 500: up 0.2 percent and closes at 5,554.25 points
New York – Nasdaq Composite: up 0.2 percent to 17,631.72 (closing)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent and closes at 8,311.41 points
Paris – CAC 40: up 0.4 percent and closes at 7,449.70 points
Frankfurt – DAX: up 0.8 percent and closes at 18,322.40 points
EURO STOXX 50: up 0.7 percent to close at 4,840.52 points
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: up 3.6 percent to close at 38,062.67 points
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: up 1.9 percent to close at 17,430.16 points
Shanghai Composite: up 0.1 percent to close at 2,879.43 points
Euro/dollar: up to $1.1022 from $1.0972 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: up to $1.2945 from $1.2853
Dollar/yen: DOWN to 147.60 yen from 149.06 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN to 85.14 pence from 85.36 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.0 percent to $76.65 a barrel
North Sea Brent crude: DOWN 1.7 percent to $79.68 a barrel
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