Latest News

Gold hits record price as US Government Shuts Down

Wall Street futures, the dollar and gold all fell on Wednesday as the U.S. Government shut down most of its operations. This could delay the release of important jobs data, which may muddy interest rate forecasts.

The government shutdown, which has no way out of its impasse regarding a funding agreement, will halt the release a closely-watched September employment report. It could also lead to the furloughing of 750,000 federal employees at a cost of $400,000,000 per day.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures both fell by about 0.5% on Wednesday. Gold prices rose to $3,895 per ounce in a record-breaking session for the third consecutive time.

The STOXX pan-continental index rose 0.7%, bucking the trend. The FTSE 100 in Britain and the SMI in Switzerland outperformed. Healthcare stocks jumped, boosted on expectations that they would avoid excessive U.S. tariffs on imports following President Donald Trump's agreement with Pfizer regarding prescription drug prices.

In the STOXX 600, the healthcare sector is ranked third.

Investors will buy as the political risks in the healthcare industry ease.

I think that this could support European shares in the next few days."

SLOW DOWN TO Delay Data

Investors may give greater weight to the ADP National Employment Report, due later today. Forecasts predict a modest increase of 50,000 jobs in the private sector.

George Lagarias is the chief economist of Forvis Mazars. He said: "The general notion is that these things will have a short term impact and not a longer-term effect, and markets are aware of this."

The lack of data means we will assume that the current trend will continue. If there's no sign of a strong recovery in the economy, the Fed is likely to continue its current course.

The Federal Reserve is now expected to cut rates by 95% in October. This is up from 90% a day ago. There's also a 75% chance that they will do so again in December.

Anthony Saglimbene is the chief market strategist for Ameriprise. He said that, if the shutdown continues, inflation reports from September could be affected by mid-October.

In a note, he stated that "an extended period when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was not fully operational could impact data collection efforts for the other reports and may affect the quality of data."

The Nikkei 225 index of Japan fell 0.9% Wednesday, after a 11% increase in the previous quarter. South Korean shares increased by 0.9% to add to their 11.5% gains in the previous quarter. Data showed that exports grew at the fastest rate in 14 months during September.

Taiwan's stocks gained 0.6%. The island's chief tariff negotiator stated on Wednesday that Taiwan would not accept a deal to have half of all semiconductor production take place in Washington.

Hong Kong and all Chinese markets were closed on a public holiday.

DOLLAR FALLS

The dollar index fell for the fourth consecutive day on foreign exchange markets. It was down last by 0.1% at 97.71.

The euro increased by 0.1%, to $1.1735. Sterling rose by 0.3% to $1.3483.

The dollar fell 0.6% to 147.06yen after a Bank of Japan report showed that confidence among large Japanese manufacturers had improved for the second quarter. This increased the likelihood of an interest rate increase as early as this month.

The yields on the Treasuries were unchanged in European morning trading. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield in the U.S. fell 1 basis point to 4.137% after rising 1 basis point on Tuesday.

After two days of declines, oil prices dropped further as investors weighed up potential OPEC+ plans to increase output next month.

U.S. crude fell about 0.4% to $62.14 per barrel while Brent dropped 0.4% to $65.79.

(source: Reuters)