Gold climbs above $4,130.
Gold prices extended gains on Wednesday, climbing above $4,130 an ounce as escalating tensions in the Middle East underpinned bullion despite a firmer U.S. dollar and higher Treasury yields, while investors continued to assess the implications of higher energy prices for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate outlook.
At 02:08 ET (06:08 GMT), XAU/USD rose 1.3% to $4,132.79 an ounce, while Gold Futures gained 1.5% to $4,137.09. XAG/USD advanced 1.5% to $59.71 an ounce, whileXPT/USD climbed 2.3% to $1,666.59.
Gold built on the previous session’s nearly 2% rally as traders monitored renewed threats to global energy supplies that risk keeping inflation elevated and complicating the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook.
Attention is also turning to next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting, where officials are widely expected to leave rates unchanged but could reinforce a higher-for-longer message if energy-driven inflation risks persist.
Asia stocks climb on tech gains.
Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday, tracking a rebound on Wall Street as investors looked past another rise in oil prices sparked by escalating Middle East tensions, while optimism over technology shares helped fuel gains across the region.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to snap a three-session losing streak, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 1.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%
Gains in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and other AI-linked chipmakers helped lift sentiment ahead of quarterly earnings from Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) later on Wednesday.
U.S. stock index futures edged lower in Asian trading on Wednesday.
KOSPI jumps 5%, Nikkei rises 2% on tech gains
South Korea’s KOSPI extended sharp gains, jumping over 5%, with chipmakers Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) and SK Hynix (KS:000660) leading the advance.
The gains came despite higher crude prices after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels threatened to widen the conflict in the Middle East.
Yen retreated beyond 163 per U.S. dollar.
The Japanese yen retreated beyond 163 per U.S. dollar on Wednesday, hovering near its weakest level since 1986 as rising U.S. Treasury yields and elevated oil prices underpinned the greenback, while investors remained alert for signs of official intervention from Tokyo.
Most other Asian currencies traded in muted ranges as investors weighed the latest escalation in the Middle East, where U.S. forces carried out an 11th consecutive night of strikes against Iran while Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis threatened to blockade shipping routes, keeping concerns over global energy supplies elevated.
The US Dollar Index eased marginally to 101.15 after climbing above the 101 mark overnight on renewed geopolitical tensions and higher Treasury yields.
Yen weakens despite Japan’s growth blueprint as oil supports dollar
The USD/JPY pair rose as much as 0.5% to 163.24 per dollar overnight, sliding past 163 per dollar for the first time since 1986.
The move came even as investors assessed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “Honebuto no Hoshin” economic policy blueprint, which targets more than JPY370 trillion ($2.3 trillion) of public and private investment through fiscal 2040 in a bid to lift Japan’s long-term growth rate above 1%.
The plan also reaffirmed the Bank of Japan’s policy independence despite the government’s expansionary fiscal agenda, easing concerns that policymakers could face pressure to delay further monetary tightening.
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