Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, Feb 24, 2025. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
NEW YORK: Gold rose above US$3,000 for the first time Friday (Mar 14) as President Donald Trump’s trade wars boosted demand for safe-haven assets, while stock markets bounced on signs US lawmakers would avert a government shutdown.
Major US indices opened higher and remained in positive territory through the day, shrugging off a downcast reading on US consumer sentiment.
European stock markets were also given a lift after Germany moved closer to approving a massive infrastructure and defense spending program.
In Washington, hours before a deadline to push a Republican spending bill through, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dropped a threat to block it.
The package would keep the government operating through September, but Democrats had come under pressure from supporters to defy the plan, which they say is full of harmful spending cuts.
Stocks gained support from “a burgeoning sense that a government shutdown will be averted after Senator Schumer said he will vote for House-passed continuing resolution,” said Patrick O’Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.
A consumer survey by the University of Michigan said expectations for the future “deteriorated,” with “many consumers”: citing a “high level of uncertainty around policy and other economic factors.”
Paris and Frankfurt both rebounded after losses the previous day on US tariff threats.
Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said his conservative party had struck a deal with the Greens on boosting defense and infrastructure spending, paving the way for the plan’s approval in parliament.
“Germany is poised to pursue essential structural reforms while hoping for an end to the economic downturn,” said Jochen Stanzl, an analyst at CMC Markets. “Investor sentiment shifted dramatically today.”
TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
Gold, a haven in times of uncertainty, rose to as much as US$3,004 an ounce before falling back to just under US$3,000.
The precious metal was “boosted on increased haven demand amid trade war risks and recent stock market volatility”, said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at City Index and Forex.com.
In the latest salvo, Trump threatened to impose 200 percent tariffs on wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages from European Union countries.
Wall Street has been hammered in recent sessions by trade tensions, with the S&P 500 slipping into a technical correction Thursday, having fallen more than 10 percent from a record high it hit just last month.
The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 5,638.94, up 2.1 per cent for the day, but down 2.3 per cent for the week.
Some analysts warned that Friday’s rebound would be short-lived.
“Recent rallies have run into a buzzsaw of selling pressure,” said Nathan Peterson, an analyst at Charles Schwab. “Tariff escalations, a potential government shutdown, and persistent growth concerns due to trade policy make it difficult to sustain any kind of a bounce.”
In company news, shares in Gucci-owner Kering plunged more than 11 per cent in Paris as the group appointed a new creative director for its struggling flagship brand.
Shares in BMW were in the red as the German automaker warned that trade tensions between the United States, Europe and China would cost the company US$1 billion this year.
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