Stan Choe
US stock indexes are ticking higher, while other markets make louder moves, including another record-breaking rush for the price of gold.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent in mixed trading to win back its losses from last week’s dip. The Dow Jones was up 170 points, or 0.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6 per cent higher.
The Australian sharemarket is set to bounce higher, with futures at 4.49am AEDT pointing to a rise of 71 points, or 0.8 per cent at the open. The Australian dollar continued to surge on the back of more US dollar weakness. The Aussie was trading at US69.34¢ at 5.04am AEDT.
Baker Hughes helped lead the way and rose 3 per cent after delivering a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The energy technology company said it’s benefiting from strong momentum in demand for liquefied natural gas, among other things.
CoreWeave jumped 9.7 per cent after Nvidia said it invested $US2 billion ($2.9 billion) in the stock and will help accelerate the buildout of CoreWeave’s artificial-intelligence factories, which use Nvidia chips, by 2030 to advance AI adoption. Nvidia slipped 0.5 per cent.
USA Rare Earth leaped 11.4 per cent after saying the US government agreed to invest $US277 million to help the company produce heavy rare earths, minerals and magnets. The Trump administration also agreed to a proposed $US1.3 billion loan, while the company separately raised $US1.5 billion through private investors.
Much of the rest of Wall Street was relatively quiet. That included mixed performances for airlines, which had to cancel thousands of flights due to the winter storm that swept much of the United States over the weekend. United Airlines lost 0.9 per cent, while Southwest Airlines climbed 0.5 per cent.
The action was stronger in the gold market, where the metal’s price rallied another 2.2 per cent and briefly topped $US5100 per ounce to set another record. Silver surged even more, nearly 12 per cent.
Prices for precious metals have been soaring as investors look for safer places to keep their money amid threats of tariffs, still-high inflation, political strife and mountains of debt for governments worldwide.
One of the latest worries piled atop the swelling list was President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 100 per cent tariff on goods from Canada if it signs a free trade deal with China.
The US dollar’s value also continued its recent decline against peers. This time, it was the Japanese yen leaping sharply against the dollar amid expectations that officials in Japan and the United States may intervene in the market to prop up the Japanese currency’s value.
More swings could be ahead for financial markets in a week full of big tests.
The Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates on Wednesday. It’s been lowering its main interest rate and has indicated more cuts may be on the way in 2026 to help shore up the job market. But most economists expect it to hold steady on Wednesday, in part because inflation remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2 per cent target.
Several of Wall Street’s most influential stocks are also set to deliver their earnings reports this week. That includes Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla on Wednesday and Apple on Thursday.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.21 per cent from 4.24 per cent late Friday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following sharper swings in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.8 per cent for one of the world’s bigger moves. A stronger yen could hurt Japanese exporters, and Toyota Motor fell 4.1 per cent.
AP
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