【TOP 1 Morning】Gold ends lower to suffer worst weekly slump since March, dollar off 2-month peak, Dow jumps 350, Big Tech rebounds

Yesterday Market Review

Gold

Gold fell on Friday, hovering near the last session's over two-month low, as investors sought shelter in the dollar from rising coronavirus cases and uncertainties over the next U.S. stimulus to aid the economy.

The spot gold closed at $1862.67 per ounce, volatility within the day is 1852.16-1875.06.

For the week, gold is down about 4.4% so far, the most in at least six weeks, as the dollar was set for its best week since early April. A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the currency, like gold, more expensive for buyers using other monetary units.

"Most of the sell-off in the gold price is primarily down to the strength in the dollar index that we have seen this week," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst, at AvaTrade, in a note. The recent resurgence of the buck has made dollar-backed gold relatively more expensive to overseas buyers using other monetary units.

The Federal Reserve's "monetary policy confusion has boosted the dollar index, and this increase in the dollar index has brought more weakness for the gold price," said Aslam.

The silver closed at $22.883, volatility within the day is 22.412-23.282.

Forex

The dollar gained ground on Friday and measured its biggest weekly gain since early April as investors worried about a slowing economic recovery, rising coronavirus infections in Europe, uncertainty about U.S. stimulus, and the upcoming elections here.

U.S. dollar closed at 94.394, volatility within the day is 94.225 - 94.795.

With so much for investors to feel uncertain about, JB Mackenzie, Managing director of futures and forex at TD Ameritrade, sees increasing volatility ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. elections and, as a result, more demand for the dollar.

"The election and stimulus and the continued economic recovery, those three parts, if those are not working lockstep, there very well could be a movement to the dollar as that flight to safety trade," said Mackenzie.

The euro had its largest weekly fall against the dollar since early April. For the day, the euro was down 0.40% at $1.1627, after hitting a roughly two-month low.

The GBP/USD closed at 1.2746, a drop of 1.32% last week.

With five straight days of gains against JPY, the greenback showed its strongest weekly gain versus the yen since early June. For the day, the yen was lower against the dollar at 105.60.

Riskier currencies fell, with AUD lower 0.28% on the day and down around 3.6% for the week in its biggest weekly decline since the week ending Mar. 20. The NZD declined 0.08% against the greenback for the day but showing its biggest weekly dip since the week ending May 15.

Stock Market

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, recovering some of their losses for the week, as tech shares clawed back some of their big September declines. 

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 358.52 points, or 1.34%, to close at 27,173.96. The S&P 500 rose 51.87 points, or 1.60%, to end at 3,298.46 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 241.30 points or 2.26% at 10,913.56.

Shares of Amazon rose 2.5%, and Facebook gained 2.1%. Apple advanced 3.8%, and Microsoft climbed 2.3%. Netflix closed 2.1% higher. The S&P 500 tech sector jumped 2.4% and for its best day since Sept. 9, when it popped 3.4%.

Shares of aerospace giant Boeing rose to session highs following news that Federal Aviation Administration administrator Steve Dixon will do a test flight of the 737 Max next week. The plane has been grounded for more than a year, and a flight by Dixon, who is a licensed pilot, is seen as possibly one of the last steps before the Max is recertified. Boeing's stock last traded up 5.7% for the session.

Apple shares tumbled more than 20% from their September peak, and Morgan Stanley said the pullback has created an attractive entry point ahead of the upcoming iPhone launch.

Shares of Costco were under pressure on Friday, falling 2.6% in the premarket even after the big-box retailer reported quarterly earnings that beat analyst expectations.

Investors worry that the new wave of the epidemic will hinder economic recovery, and European banking stocks and auto stocks fell. The Germany's DAX fell more than 1%, the France's CAC-40 fell 0.7% throughout the day, and the FTSE 100 index rose more than 0.3%.

Crude Oil

Oil futures edged lower on Friday, with both major benchmarks posting their third weekly decline in four weeks as worries about the demand outlook have grown in response to rising COVID-19 cases.

West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $40.117, volatility within the day is 39.782-40.689. International benchmark Brent crude closed at 42.258, volatility within the day is 41.981-42.771.

A rising number of COVID-19 cases have prompted the resumption of some lockdown restrictions in European countries while stoking concerns about the U.S. economic outlook.

Supply-related worries have also hung over the market this week, with Libyan output set to pick up after a military commander moved to lift a blockade of ports that has virtually strangled production for the past eight months.

In related data Friday, Baker Hughes BKR, -1.42% reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by 4 to 183 this week. That was the first weekly rise since the week ended Sept. 4.

Focus Today

20:30(GMT+8): US Durable Goods Orders MoM (AUG), Previous:11.4%, Forecast:1.4%;

21:45(GMT+8): ECB President Lagarde Speech;