Gold prices suffered a sharp correction on Tuesday as investors locked in profits following this year's explosive rally, while optimism across earnings kept industrial stocks powering higher and pushed the Dow Jones to fresh record highs.
Wall Street shrugged off credit concerns that battered bank stocks on Wednesday, with large-cap indices posting slight gains by midday trading in New York, setting up for a positive weekly close.
In an otherwise cautious session on Wall Street, gold and silver stole the spotlight once again, with both precious metals pushing to fresh record highs — gold touching $4,270 per ounce and silver climbing to $53.90.
Wall Street rose on Wednesday, with investor optimism lifted by strong bank and corporate earnings alongside growing expectations for further Federal Reserve rate cuts — keeping trade concerns sidelined for now.
U.S. stocks edged lower on Thursday, pausing after a record-setting run. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% by midday in New York, retreating from an all-time high of 5,674 hit at the open.
The brief pause in the market rally didn't last long. Wall Street resumed its climb toward fresh records on Wednesday, powered by another relentless surge in technology stocks — while in commodities, gold continues to defy the laws of gravity.
Risk sentiment is taking a breather after days of a relentless rally, with all major Wall Street indexes trading in negative territory and sharper declines hitting the most speculative assets, such as cryptocurrencies.
Tech and AI-related stocks continued to propel Wall Street to new record highs Monday, with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) surging nearly 30% after unveiling a landmark investment in OpenAI.
The consumer discretionary sector is underperforming due to stock concentration in Tesla and Amazon, but smaller companies in the sector are quietly delivering steady gains.
Another historic session is unfolding on Wall Street, where every major index surged to new records by midday trading on Friday, even as Washington's shutdown dragged into its third day.
On the second day of the U.S. government shutdown, Wall Street remains largely subdued, with indexes showing only slight midday declines after touching fresh record highs at the open.
