Gold steadies near $4,260 as dollar slips, Nikkei hits record

Gold rose to $4,259 per ounce on Monday as the US dollar eased after President Trump said his proposed 100% tariffs on Chinese goods would be “not sustainable.” Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.9% to an all-time high after Sanae Takaichi secured support to become the country’s first female prime minister, while the yen weakened briefly before recovering on hawkish comments from a Bank of Japan policymaker. Brent crude traded near $93.40 per barrel as Trump warned India would face “massive” tariffs if it continued buying Russian oil, with New Delhi’s imports projected to rise this month.

Equities

London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.9% to 9,353 points on Friday, reaching a two-week low as losses in major banks weighed on the index. The drop marked its second consecutive weekly decline.

Financial stocks led the downturn, with HSBC down 3%, Barclays sliding 5.4% and Standard Chartered off 3.2%, as concerns about the credit health of US regional banks spread to Europe. The broader banks index fell 3.1%. The FTSE 250 slipped 1% to 21,783.

Defensive sectors provided some support, with utilities and personal goods shares gaining modestly. Among individual movers, education group Pearson rose 2.5% after forecasting stronger fourth-quarter sales growth.

Hedge fund manager Man Group jumped 6.3% as assets under management increased faster than expected. In contrast, precious metals miner Fresnillo dropped 11% after gold and platinum prices weakened sharply. Aerospace and defence stocks declined 3.5%, mirroring losses across Europe.

Across the Atlantic, Wall Street closed higher on Friday as investors assessed comments from US President Donald Trump, who said his proposed 100% tariff on Chinese goods would not be sustainable. The S&P 500 gained 0.53% to finish at 6,664.01, the Nasdaq rose 0.52% to 22,679.98, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.52% to 46,190.61.

Nine of the eleven S&P sectors advanced, led by consumer staples, which rose 1.23%. Financials gained 0.8%, supported by stronger results from regional banks. Truist Financial rose 3.7% after posting higher third-quarter profit, while Fifth Third Bancorp added 1.3%. Zions Bancorporation rebounded 5.8% following Thursday’s losses tied to loan write-downs, and Western Alliance advanced 3.1% after reporting progress on a legal dispute.

Earnings optimism also helped sentiment, with JPMorgan and other large banks’ results lifting quarterly forecasts for the S&P 500. Analysts now expect third-quarter earnings growth of 9.3%, up from 8.8% earlier this month. Among the largest US companies, Tesla gained 2.5% and Apple rose almost 2%, while Amazon slipped 0.7%. Eli Lilly fell 2% after Trump vowed to lower prices for weight-loss drugs. State Street declined 1.4% as net interest income missed estimates. For the week, the S&P 500 added 1.7%, the Nasdaq climbed 2.1% and the Dow rose 1.6%, while the CBOE volatility index dropped to 21.5 after spiking earlier in the day.

Forex & Commodities

The US dollar eased slightly as traders reacted to signs of easing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. President Donald Trump said his proposed 100% tariffs on Chinese goods would be “not sustainable” and confirmed that a meeting with President Xi Jinping would still go ahead in two weeks. The Australian dollar rose to $0.6504, supported by stronger Chinese growth data, while the euro firmed to $1.1665. Sterling edged lower to $1.3431 as investors looked ahead to key US inflation data due later in the week. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar briefly touched 151.20 before paring gains after a Bank of Japan policymaker called for higher interest rates.

Gold prices rose on Monday morning as expectations for further US interest rate cuts helped steady sentiment following sharp losses late last week. Spot gold was up at $4,259 per ounce after falling 1.8% on Friday, while silver gained to $52.18 per ounce. Investors are awaiting US CPI figures due on Friday, expected to show core inflation steady at 3.1% in September. Market pricing from the CME FedWatch tool suggests a quarter-point Federal Reserve rate cut this month and another in December, supporting non-yielding assets such as gold after its record high of $4,378 last week.

Oil markets were steady following comments from President Trump that Indian imports of Russian oil remain a sticking point in trade talks. Trump reiterated that India would face “massive” tariffs if purchases from Moscow continued. Brent crude last traded near $93.40 per barrel, with traders assessing reports that India’s imports of Russian oil could rise this month to around 1.9 million barrels per day. A White House official said New Delhi had halved its Russian purchases, though industry data showed no immediate drop. Market attention now turns to the impact of US-India trade talks and any signs of production shifts from major exporters.