Gold prices up slightly, stocks worldwide rise on US jobs report
ALBAWABA – A soft rebound pushed gold prices back up on Wednesday as United States (US) Treasuries dipped in the previous session and stocks worldwide reportedly rose on the latest US jobs data hinting at a cooling economy.
Equities rose Wednesday after a tepid start to the week as data pointing to a softening US labour market restored hopes the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates early into the new year.
Despite the optimistic US jobs report, Wall Street's three main indexes ended mixed on Tuesday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones were both in the red at 1304 Amman Time, as per Reuters, with the NASDAQ unchanged.
Asia-Pacific enjoyed some much-needed buying. Tokyo and Sydney up two and one percent higher, respectively, and Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Mumbai, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta all on the rise.
Shanghai fell, with sentiment dented after Moody's on Tuesday warned it had downgraded its outlook for China's credit rating. The credit rating agency justified the downgrade as owing to the country's rising debt levels and concerns over its battered property sector, as reported by AFP.
MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index – a gauge for benchmarks in the region - rose the most in three weeks, with Japanese equities leading the gains, while European stock futures advanced 0.3 percent.
Stocks worldwide up, gold prices rebound - Shutterstock
Frankfurt rose at the open to extend the previous day's record high. London and Paris also joined the advance.
Meanwhile, Gold prices gained $4.52 on the ounce by 1256 Amman Time, according to GoldPrice.org, with spot gold prices at $2,023.03 per ounce.
A rebound in interest rate-sensitive assets has driven a surge in both cryptocurrencies and safe havens such as gold, with Bitcoin and Ether also on the rise.
Benchmark US 10-year yields pared some of Tuesday’s decline, which brought them below 4.2 percent. Global bonds are extending gains on expectations that a wave of easing will break out next year as inflation fears evaporate, as reported by Bloomberg.
The below-forecast job openings figure bolstered optimism ahead of the closely watched non-farm payrolls report due Friday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Investors are hopeful the non-farm report will confirm the economic slowdown sought by the central bank.
Markets rallied in November on growing hope that, with inflation on the downturn and other parts of the economy easing, the Fed will be able to slash rates in 2024. Some, AFP reported, expect rate cuts as soon as the first quarter.
Stocks worldwide: Markets summary by AFP and Bloomberg
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.0 percent at 33,445.90 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 16,463.26 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,968.93 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,500.42
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.91 yen from 147.16 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0789 from $1.0801
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2601 from $1.2596
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.59 pence from 85.73 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $72.37 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.3 percent at $77.40 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 36,124.56 (close)
S&P 500 futures rose 0.3 percent as of 6:28 a.m. London time. The S&P 500 was little changed.
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4 percent. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2 percent
Japan’s Topix rose 1.9 percent
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.7 percent
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent
The Shanghai Composite was little changed
Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3 percent
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
The euro was little changed at $1.0791
The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.20 per dollar
The offshore yuan rose 0.1 percent to 7.1654 per dollar
The Australian dollar rose 0.5 percent to $0.6586
The British pound was little changed at $1.2604
