Wall Street hits new record highs before Fed decision
US stock indices rose to new record highs on Thursday, building on the massive gains marked yesterday after Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the US presidential elections.
Experts believe a Trump presidency would likely stimulate the economy and boost growth, while also cutting taxes and regulations.
Earlier US data showed unemployment claims rose by 3 thousand to 221 thousand last week, while analysts expected 220 thousand.
On trading, Dow Jones rose 0.1% to 43,768 points as of 15:23 GMT, while S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5960 points, as NASDAQ surged 1.1% to 19,185 points.
BOE cuts interest rates for second time this year
The Bank of England cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the November 7 meeting as expected to 4.75%, the lowest since May 2023.
It comes after a similar cut by the BOE in August, which was the first such rate cut since March 2020.
Gold hits three-week trough before Fed decision
Gold prices fell in European trade on Thursday for a second day after giving up the $2700 barrier, plumbing three-week lows after Donald Trump won the US presidential election.
It comes ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions later today, expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
The Price
Gold prices fell 0.6% today to $2643 an ounce, the lowest since October 15, with a session-high at $2643.
On Wednesday, gold slid 3.1%, the first loss in three days, and the heftiest since June 7 after Trump’s stunning election win.
Trump
Donal Trump reclaimed the White House in a landslide victory this week, pushing the dollar and US treasury yields sharply higher, and pressuring greenback-denominated gold prices.
US Rates
According to the Fedwatch tool, the odds of a 0.25%% Fed rate cut today stood at 97.5%, with the odds of a 0.5% cut standing at 2.5%.
The odds of a 0.25% Fed rate cut in December stood at 67%.
SPDR
Gold holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust fell 3.45 tons yesterday to a total of 883.46 tons, the lowest since October 14.
