Gold Rally Powers Ahead as Stocks Hover Near Highs: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Gold’s unprecedented rally pushed higher on efforts by China to bolster its role in global bullion markets. Stocks paused an advance that lifted the S&P 500 to yet another record.

Bullion powered beyond $3,780 an ounce, putting the metal on track for its best month since 2020. The rally gained fresh momentum on Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that the People’s Bank of China is looking to be a custodian of sovereign reserves, courting friendly countries to buy bullion and store it within its borders.

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US stock futures traded indecisively early on, repeating a pattern of the past two sessions that gave way to extended rallies. Nvidia Corp. slipped 0.7% premarket after Monday’s jump.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose 0.2% after data showed the euro area’s private sector expanded at the fastest pace in 16 months. US Treasuries climbed across the curve, with the 10-year yield slipping one basis point to 4.13%. The dollar steadied.

Investors are rushing to gold as the prospect of rapid US interest rate cuts enhances the appeal of non-interest-bearing assets. The metal is also drawing haven demand amid geopolitical upheaval and pressure on the Federal Reserve from the Trump administration to lower rates, stocking fears about inflation.

Traders are awaiting fresh Fed signals ahead of a speech by Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday as earnings season looms as the next big test for stocks. Coming up as well is the first of three shorter-term debt auctions, beginning with a $69 billion sale of two-year notes.

“The cross-asset landscape is defined by the duality of tech-driven sentiment, embodied by Nvidia’s outsized role in AI, and policy scrutiny over Fed independence,” wrote Pepperstone research strategist Ahmad Assiri. “Equities continue to enjoy a positive tilt, the dollar struggles to find upside traction while gold has cemented itself as the market’s most compelling anchor.”

US stocks are holding gains from a $15 trillion rally since April’s lows, shaking off trade tensions and concerns about stretched valuations as traders bet a dovish Fed will fuel earnings amid excitement over artificial intelligence. The view was reinforced Monday as Nvidia pledged to invest as much as $100 billion in OpenAI.

“With the Fed turning dovish, the risk is that if you’re on the sidelines and the market moves away from you, you’ll never be able to catch up,” said Patrick Brenner, chief investment officer of multi-asset at Schroders Plc. “We have some exposure but we’re not completely risk-on. If we see a dip, we are ready to buy more.”

While AI companies have been quick to unveil plans for spending, they’ve been slower to show how they will pull in revenue to cover those expenses. Consulting firm Bain & Co. predicted that firms will need to find a combined $2 trillion to fund computing power by 2030, but their revenue is likely to fall $800 billion short of that.

Corporate News:

Kenvue Inc. rose around 6% in premarket trading. President Donald Trump’s call for pregnant women to avoid Tylenol drew sharp criticism from researchers, who say the advice ignores decades of evidence and could endanger mothers and babies. China Vanke Co. is in talks with major domestic creditors to cut borrowing costs on private debt worth tens of billions of yuan, as the embattled developer seeks to ease liquidity stress, according to people familiar with the matter. Firefly Aerospace Inc. fell 10% in premarket trading after it reported second-quarter revenue that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, as the small-rocket launcher works to ramp up the frequency of its flights and win new contracts. Orsted A/S shares surged after a US judge ruled construction can continue on a nearly completed wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, quashing an effort by the Trump administration to halt the project. Zijin Gold International Co., which is currently taking orders to raise $3.2 billion in the world’s biggest initial public offering in months, may have to delay its trading debut in Hong Kong next week because of super typhoon Ragasa. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 6:45 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1792 The British pound was little changed at $1.3501 The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.76 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin was little changed at $112,912.25 Ether rose 0.2% to $4,194.21 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.13% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.75% Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.69% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $62.80 a barrel Spot gold rose 1% to $3,783.10 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Anand Krishnamoorthy.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.