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Gold gains above $4,000 in anticipation of rate cuts

Investors waited to see minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting on Wednesday, and gold continued its recent rally over $4,000 per ounce. A prolonged U.S. shutdown coupled with expectations for further U.S. rate cuts drove the demand for this safe-haven investment.

Gold, traditionally seen as an investment during periods of uncertainty, has gained 54% this year, after having gained 27% in 2024. Gold spot was up last 1.41%, at $4,039.81 per ounce. U.S. gold contracts for December delivery were up 1.5%, to $4,063.70.

Gold Fields shares, listed in the United States, rose 3.8%.

The Japanese yen fell to its lowest level since February as investors fretted about an increase in Japan's fiscal spending, while the Euro dropped due to the ongoing political uncertainty in France. Stocks on Wall Street recovered from Tuesday's losses, with technology stocks leading the charge. Nvidia's shares rose 1.6%.

It's rebounding nicely led by Nvidia, and AI-related shares. Investors have been optimistic for a while now, despite the government shutdown and a slowing job market.

The federal government is still closed, so investors have not had access to most U.S. economy data. The Fed will release the minutes of its September meeting on Wednesday. These will be scrutinized for new clues about Fed policy. According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the central bank will likely cut rates by 25 basis point at its meeting on October 28-29.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 53.16 points or 0.11% to 46,656.14, while the S&P 500 gained 26.47 points or 0.39% to 6,740.96. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite increased 152.53 or 0.67% to 22,940.90. The MSCI index of global stocks rose 3.05 points or 0.31% to 995.21. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 0.84%. Sebastien Lecornu, the caretaker prime minister in France, said that a budget agreement could be reached by the end of the year, reducing the likelihood of an early election.

His cautiously positive tone helped a modest rise in French bonds. OAT yields fell 5.3 basis points for the day to 3.52%. The euro, however, continued its recent declines, and ended the day down by 0.39%, at $1.161.

The yen has been weakened by the unexpected election of Sanae Takayi as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan on Saturday. This was due to expectations of increased government stimulus. The dollar last rose 0.45% against the yen to 152.59. It had earlier hit 152.99, its highest level since February 14.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes fell 1.4 basis points, to 4,113% versus 4,127% at late Tuesday.

The oil prices rose. U.S. crude oil rose by 1.8%, to $62.84 per barrel. Brent crude was up by 1.53% to $66.45 a barrel.

(source: Reuters)