BANGKOK (AP) — The price of gold hit a new record and world shares were mixed on Tuesday after U.S. markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday.
The spot price of gold, traditionally a haven for investors in times of uncertainty, gained 1.4% to $3,571.50 per ounce early Tuesday. That surpassed an intraday record of $3,509.90 an ounce set in April.
President Donald Trump' s challenges to the U.S. Federal Reserve and other institutions has shaken faith in the U.S. dollar, prompting a shift into other investment options such as gold.
“That’s not just a price tick; it’s the market’s confession that faith in fiat is wobbling,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. He noted that the price of the precious metal has nearly doubled since early 2023.
Investors have been shifting away from U.S. Treasuries for years but that shift has accelerated this year due to worries over U.S. government debt, trade tensions and geopolitical risks, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Since Wall Street was shuttered for the day, analysts said traders also were still focusing on the potential implications of a ruling by a U.S. court against Trump’s higher tariffs on many countries around the world.
In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% higher to 42,229.39 as investors snapped up bargains following recent losses. An auction of 10-year Japanese government bonds was expected to test the stability of that market.
Markets in China fell back from recent gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.6% to 25,460.16, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.8% to 3,844.84.
Chinese leaders were holding a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization which brought in allies such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jung Un in a “defiant show” of solidarity with pledges of closer ties, Ong Ju Hong of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.
The “pledges of closer cooperation at the Tianjin Summit in China set the stage for a collision course with Trump,” Ong wrote.
South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.9% to 3,170.18, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gave up 0.3% to 8,902.70.
India's Sensex rose 0.4% and the SET in Bangkok gained 0.7%.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Friday, 7-4, that Trump went too far when he declared national emergencies to justify imposing sharply higher import taxes on almost every country on earth.
The ruling largely upheld a May decision by a specialized federal trade court in New York, but it rejected part of that ruling striking down the tariffs immediately, giving the Trump administration time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
European markets gained on Monday, with Germany's DAX up 0.6%. But the CAC 40 in Paris and Britain's FTSE 100 edged just 0.1% higher.
Updates on U.S. durable goods orders, manufacturing, jobless claims and other data that may provide insights into how the economy is holding up under the higher tariffs are due this week.
European manufacturing data and a preliminary consumer price index reading for the countries using the euro also are on the agenda this week.
In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 89 cents to $64.90 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 26 cents to $68.41 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 147.75 Japanese yen from 147.18 yen. The euro fell to $1.1693 from $1.1711.
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