Gold Breaks Record As Stocks Muddle Through Fed Pause

From: The Wall Street Journal
Gold leapt to new highs Wednesday, posting its biggest one-day advance in almost six years and settling above $5,300 a troy ounce for the first time.
Futures for January delivery rose 4.4%, the biggest percentage increase for a front-month contract since March 24, 2020, when the world's economy was shutting down to slow the spread of Covid-19. Futures have now risen seven consecutive days, ending Wednesday at a record $5,301.60 an ounce.
Gold extended its climb in afternoon trading after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and signaled the central bank is in no hurry to cut rates further, given recent solid economic data. 
The Fed's signals largely matched Wall Street expectations, and stocks finished mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average inching higher by less than 0.1%, the S&P 500 slipping less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rising 0.2%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held gains after the meeting, settling at 4.25%, up from 4.224% on Tuesday. 
The yearslong gold rally took off when the West sanctioned Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Central banks have been moving their reserves away from dollar-based assets and into gold, which is beyond the reach of sanctions. Lately, concerns about the strength of the U.S. dollar, lower interest rates and comparatively expensive stocks have added to gold's rise.
Silver, another precious metal, rose 7.2%, its second-highest close in history, and continued climbing after the regular trading session ended. The WSJ Dollar Index climbed and the yen sank after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the U.S. is committed to a strong dollar and isn't intervening in currency markets. 
A selloff Tuesday had been fueled in part by President Trump, who said he wasn't concerned about currency declines. Asked if the U.S. was currently acting to boost the Japanese currency, Bessent said: “Absolutely not.” The yen stood about 0.8% lower versus the dollar in afternoon trading.
Meanwhile, earnings season was in full swing, with 102 companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index reporting this week, according to LSEG. U.S-traded shares in ASML, the Dutch company that builds advanced chip-making equipment, initially rose after it logged record quarterly orders. They later turned lower and closed down 2.2%.
Shares of data-storage company Seagate rose 19% after it reported higher-than-expected earnings, with shares up more than 60% since the start of 2026. Intel shares climbed 11%.

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