Gold surged to a fresh all-time high on Tuesday, as investors flocked to safe-haven assets amid global market uncertainty. The precious metal climbed to $3,501.59 an ounce in early Asian trading, surpassing its previous record of $3,500.10 set in April.
The rally in gold comes as markets digest a weakening US dollar and growing expectations of potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indexes edged higher while awaiting the reopening of Wall Street after the Labor Day holiday.
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba powered ahead, soaring nearly 20% on Monday following strong quarterly results and a significant boost in AI-driven revenue. Its shares extended gains by another 0.5% on Tuesday. This momentum helped lift the Hang Seng by 2.2% on Monday, with a further 0.1% gain on Tuesday, while Shanghai’s market also advanced.
Chinese equities received additional support from a better-than-expected Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) on Monday, signaling a pickup in industrial activity.
“While US tech giants face mounting challenges around AI monetisation and stretched valuations, Chinese companies are delivering tangible earnings growth from AI and cloud computing,” noted Charu Chanana of Saxo Markets.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei fell 1.2% on Monday as semiconductor stocks struggled, but regained some ground on Tuesday. South Korea’s market moved higher, buoyed by recoveries in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics shares following concerns over their chip manufacturing operations in China.
Wall Street was closed Monday for Labor Day, with the US dollar trading mixed against major currencies.
The US market had retreated from record highs on Friday after a key inflation report showed acceleration, narrowing the Federal Reserve’s room for policy easing and raising questions about the central bank’s independence.
– Key figures at around 0300 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 per cent at 42,292.88
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 per cent at 25,644.02
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.8 per cent at 3,839.97
New York – Dow: Closed Monday for a public holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN 1.1697 from $1.1705 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN 1.3529 from $1.3547
Dollar/yen: UP at 147.58 from 147.27 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.46 pence from 86.57 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 per cent at $68.46 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 per cent at $64.96 per barrel
AFP
