Fear boosts safe havens, with gold prices rising and stocks worldwide struggling
ALBAWABA – Stocks worldwide fell on Wednesday as gold prices rose nearly 1 percent on rising tensions in the Middle East after Israeli forces bombed a hospital amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Gold prices surged by 1.02 percent, up more than $19.61 on the ounce, to $1,944.32 at 01:38 p.m. Amman time, according to GoldPrice.org. Spot gold rose 1.01 percent and gold futures rose 1.1 percent to $1,957.50 an ounce, Bloomberg reported.
Gold prices are rising by the minute, as uncertainty and risk stemming from the genocide in Gaza possibly drawing the region into open war drove investments away from stocks and into safe havens.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.2 percent by 8:27 GMT, falling for the second straight day, according to Reuters, with British stocks and government bonds falling, thanks also to sticky inflation.
Gold prices rise as demand increases for safer investments that are less exposed to turmoil - Shutterstock
London’s FTSE 100 edged 0.2 percent lower, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 dropped 0.8 percent by 0822 GMT, as both indexes snapped a two-day winning streak.
Stocks worldwide down except some Asia-Pacific indexes, gold prices surge
Data showed British annual consumer price inflation held at an 18-month low of 6.7 percent in September, Reuters reported, while the core inflation fell less than expected, raising fears of another BoE rate hike.
A rise in fuel prices in August and September put upward pressure on the annual CPI rate.
Across the pond, S&P 500 contracts lost 0.4 percent, along with the NASDAQ and Dow Jones Futures, each falling 0.5 and 0.2 percent, respectively, according to Bloomberg.
On the other side of the Pacific, Asian markets mostly fell, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai, Jakarta, Taipei and Manila all down, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
However, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington and Bangkok all edged up, with Tokyo flat.
Markets Summary by AFP and Bloomberg
S&P 500 futures fell 0.3 percent as of 6:05 a.m. New York time
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.5 percent
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3 percent
The MSCI World index fell 0.1 percent
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 32,042.25 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 17,732.52 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,058.71 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,655.24
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0580 from $1.0579 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2189 from $1.2182
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.75 yen from 149.82 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.78 pence from 86.81 pence
New York - Dow: FLAT at 33,997.65 points (close)
