Gold prices rise on weaker dollar, Fed easing bets; holds long-term appeal
Investing.com - Futures linked to Canada’s main stock exchange inched lower on Friday, suggesting to losses in the previous session, as investors prepared for a potential bout of fresh equity-market volatility.
By 06:31 ET (11:31 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract had dipped by 7 points, or 0.4%.
The S&P/TSX composite index slid by 0.8% to 29,868.59 on Thursday, retreating from its largest one-day climb in three weeks in the prior session.
A drop in technology sector shares overshadowed an uptick in the materials group, which includes metal and mining stocks.
Futures edge lower
U.S. stock futures pointed down, reversing earlier gains, suggesting yet another bout of choppiness could be facing markets ahead of the final session of a roller-coaster week fueled by concerns over elevated valuations.
By 06:32 ET, the Dow futures contract had fallen by 146 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 futures had dropped 31 points, or 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had declined by 154 points, or 0.6%.
The main averages on Wall Street sank on Thursday, with the NASDAQ Composite leading the way lower, slumping 1.9%, weighed down by a decline in technology shares.
This was a resumption of Tuesday’s selloff, which had been driven in particular by fears around the sustainability of the tech sector’s sky-high valuations.
The three benchmark indices are each in the red this week, with the S&P 500 down 1.8% week to date, while the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq have lost nearly 1.4% and 2.8% during the period, respectively.
Government shutdown continues
Adding to the concerns of tech sector valuations, the week’s weakness comes as the U.S. government shutdown stretches into its second month, disrupting the release of key economic data, including inflation and jobs reports. The blackout has left both investors and the Federal Reserve flying partly blind to the economy’s trajectory, complicating the central bank’s assessment of the case for further rate cuts.
Private-sector data filled some of the gap on Thursday. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that U.S. companies announced a 183.1% surge in layoffs in October compared with the prior month -- the steepest monthly jump in decades.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed skepticism over the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, raising doubts about the durability of his trade measures.
Tesla CEO Musk’s pay package approved
That said, providing a degree of support has been a generally positive quarterly earnings season. As the third-quarter reporting period enters its final stretch, some 83% of the 424 companies in the S&P 500 who have posted results so far have topped Wall Street expectations.
Airbnb shares jumped premarket after the vacation rental firm forecast upbeat quarterly revenue after posting higher third-quarter results, aided by strong bookings in markets such as Latin America and Asia Pacific.
Affirm Holdings shares soared after the buy-now-pay-later provider reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 results that significantly exceeded expectations, and raised its full-year guidance.
Take-Two Interactive stock fell after Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of the video game developer, announced a further delay in the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to November 2026 from May 2026, the second delay for the highly anticipated game.
Elsewhere, Tesla shareholders approved a historic compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, backing a potential payout of up to $1 trillion in stock over the next decade.
The vote, conducted at Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, saw over 75% of shares cast in favour of the deal, which hinges on ambitious performance targets including reaching an $8.5 trillion market valuation and deploying robotaxis and humanoid robots.
Crude set for weekly loss
Oil prices rose, but were on track for a second consecutive weekly loss on worries about excess supply and slowing U.S. demand.
Brent futures gained 0.8% to $63.94 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.0% to $60.01 a barrel.
Both contracts are set to fall about 2% this week, down for a second straight week, after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, decided to increase output slightly in December.
The group also paused further increases for the first quarter of next year, wary of a supply glut.
Additionally to the concerns, U.S. crude stocks rose more than expected, raising concerns about U.S. demand, particularly as the longest government shutdown in the history of the U.S. continues.
Gold ticks higher
Gold prices nudged higher, supported by a softer U.S. dollar and growing bets on another Federal Reserve rate cut, even as the metal remained set for a weekly loss.
Spot gold was last up 0.6% at $4,002.46 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures edged 0.5% higher to $4,010.40.
Other precious and industrial metals traded modestly higher.