London (AFP) – Gold soared to a fresh record near $5,600 on Thursday and oil prices climbed after US President Donald Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions with threats of a military strike on Iran. “With the Middle East tinder box looking set to ignite again, oil prices have moved sharply higher, lifting shares in listed energy giants,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.
Stock markets mostly rose in Asia and Europe as investors also pored over company earnings and the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy update. Frankfurt slid almost one percent in midday deals, however, dragged down by German software giant SAP. Its share price tumbled nearly 14 percent after the company warned it would see a slowdown in new cloud computing contracts this year after missing targets last year.
Gold hit a new record at $5,595.47 an ounce as investors rushed to assets deemed safe, including silver, which reached its own record of $120.44 an ounce. The precious metals are being helped by a softer dollar, sparked by speculation that Trump is happy to see the world’s reserve currency weaken despite the potential risk of pushing up US inflation. An uneventful policy announcement by the Fed on Wednesday did little to inspire buying, though observers said traders were optimistic that US interest rates will come down as Trump prepares to name his pick as the next governor of the central bank.
Trump has meanwhile warned that Tehran needed to negotiate a deal over its nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb. “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” he added, referring to US strikes against Iranian targets in June.
International benchmark Brent crude oil briefly topped $70 a barrel Thursday for the first time since September with a gain of more than two percent. On stock markets, Meta jumped in after-hours trade after the US parent of Facebook and Instagram published quarterly earnings that topped expectations, as revenue grew along with investments in artificial intelligence. South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics posted record quarterly profits Thursday, riding massive market demand for the memory chips that power AI.
Ahead of the Wall Street open, US chemicals group Dow said it would slash 4,500 jobs and use artificial intelligence and automation to improve productivity and boost profitability by at least $2 billion.
– Key figures at around 1145 GMT –
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.2 percent at $6.03 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.6 percent at $64.88 per barrel
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 10,217.82 points
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 8,110.53
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 24,597.26
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: FLAT at 53,375.60 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 27,968.09 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 4,157.98 (close)
New York – Dow: FLAT at 49,015.60 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1952 from $1.1944 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3798 from $1.3797
Dollar/yen: UP at 153.49 yen from 153.38 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.62 pence from 86.56 pence
© 2024 AFP
