Global markets mixed as gold slips from record highs
Global markets were mixed on Wednesday as investors took profits and reassessed valuations following a sharp rally in gold.
The precious metal retreated steeply from recent highs, while geopolitical uncertainties continued to weigh on sentiment, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was postponed, and uncertainty remained over a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Despite recent signs of easing tensions between Washington and Beijing, Trump added to doubts on Tuesday, saying that “maybe it won’t happen.”
In Japan, the Nikkei pared earlier losses after reports that new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing an economic stimulus package expected to exceed last year’s 13.9 trillion yen ($92.19 billion) to help households manage inflation.
Gold’s sudden plunge drew market attention, with prices dropping more than 5% on Tuesday without a clear trigger. The metal was last up 0.1% at $4,127.22 an ounce after a remarkable year in which it gained over 50% amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.61%. Nasdaq futures rose 0.11%, while S&P 500 futures edged up 0.2% following a mixed Wall Street session.
Among individual stocks, Netflix shares dropped nearly 6% after the streaming giant missed third-quarter earnings estimates, while General Motors surged 15% after raising its full-year profit outlook.
In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures fell 0.3%, FTSE futures were steady, and DAX futures eased 0.07%. In China, the CSI300 blue-chip index lost 0.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 1.27%.
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