Gold pauses after touching all-time highs
Gold took a breather on Monday after touching record highs last week on the expectation of a Fed rate cut this year.
Spot gold retreated slightly after surpassing the $2,500 level for the first time last Friday. Meanwhile, gold futures (GC=F) fell 0.2% on Monday to hover near $2,530 per ounce.
The precious metal has rallied this year amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and expectations that the Federal Reserve will start its rate cut cycle soon.
Prices have also risen as central banks have continued to add to their gold reserves.
Mon, August 19, 2024 at 8:31 PM GMT+7
Stocks hold steady as countdown to Jackson Hole begins, more earnings from retailers on deck
US stocks gained slightly on Monday after posting their best week in a year as investors awaited Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at Jackson Hole, with Wall Street set to receive further glimpses of the state of the consumer amid a slew of retail earnings.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) opened flat but held near record highs while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) also rose above the flat line. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added 0.1%.
Investors will pay close attention to any signals as to rate cut expectations when Powell speaks at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.
Wall Street will get further insights on the health of the consumer this week as Lowe's (LOW), Target (TGT), Macy’s (M), The TJX Companies (TJX), and BJ's (BJ) Wholesale Club post quarterly results. The reports follow encouraging inflation and consumer spending data.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Convention kicks off on Monday, which could give investors more insight into what to expect from presidential nominee Kamala Harris.