【Top1 Evening】Gold holds steady on U.S. stimulus hopes, Asia-Pacific shares mostly higher

Gold

Gold prices were little changed on Thursday as renewed hopes for more U.S. stimulus kept the bullion afloat, with investors eyeing the weekly jobless claims data to further gauge the health of the world’s largest economy.

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1892.27 per ounce by 18:00 (GMT+8).

“Gold needs both fiscal and monetary policy to come into play,” said Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

“The virus’ spread is still strong in more states and also in Europe, and that is going to force policymakers and lawmakers to deliver more stimulus,” Moya said, adding that the metal is now in a wait-and-see mode.

Meanwhile, minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s September offered no clear sense of their next steps to offset the coronavirus recession. Many policymakers said their economic outlook assumed additional fiscal support.

Investors now await U.S. employment data due later in the day. Jobless claims is predicted to decline, however, continued claims are likely to remain above 10 million.

Elsewhere, by 18:00 (GMT+8) on Tuesday, Silver climbed 0.91% to $24.016 per ounce, platinum was up 0.63% to $865.07 per ounce, while palladium rose 0.32% to $2355.67 per ounce.

Forex

On Thursday, the U.S. dollar index was still weak; at 18:00 (GMT+8), the U.S. dollar index fell 0.03% to 93.648.

The euro edged up 0.2% to $1.1767. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar lifted off a one-week low and rose about 0.34% overnight to hold at $0.7160.

Concerns that the latest Brexit talks were proving less promising than hoped dragged on the pound, and it was last steady at $1.2918.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey joins a panel discussion on the impact of Covid-19, where remarks on negative rates or other policy considerations could move the currency.

Crude Oil

Oil prices inched up on Thursday as oil workers evacuated rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Delta, though fuel demand concerns persisted on fading chances for a U.S. economic stimulus deal and a build in U.S. crude inventories.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $40.682 a barrel, rose 1.32%, Brent was up to $42.818 a barrel, gaining1.38% by 18:00 (GMT+8) on Thursday.

The Gulf of Mexico produced 1.65 million bpd in July, according to the U.S. government. The region, which accounts for 17% of U.S. crude output, has been hit by several storms over the past few months, each of which only briefly dented oil output.

Hopes for a further pick-up in U.S. fuel demand faded as White House officials reiterated on Wednesday that “stimulus negotiations are off” a day after President Donald Trump halted talks on a broad relief package.

The United States is preparing to impose fresh sanctions on Iran’s financial industry as soon as Thursday, a Republican congressional aide briefed on the matter said, as Washington ramps up pressure on Tehran weeks ahead of a key U.S. election.

Investors await OPEC’s World Oil Outlook due later today.

Stocks

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Thursday, with shares in Hong Kong lagging among the region’s major markets.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.96% to close at 23,647.07, while the Topix index advanced 0.55% to end its trading day at 1,655.47.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.21% on the day to 2,391.96. Shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics dipped 0.33%. The firm announced earlier its profit for the three months that ended in September likely rose 58% from a year ago.

Stocks in Australia also saw gains, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 1.09% to close at 6,102.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, on the other hand, slipped 0.2% to close at 24,193.35.

Shares in Taiwan rose 140 points or 1.1% to closed at 12887.

By 18:00 (GMT+8) :

SP500 rose 0.44% to 3,430.05; 

DJ30 rose 0.34% to 28,411.1;

TECH100 rose 0.56% to 11,550.65;

China A50 fell 0.06% to 15,449.82;

GER30 rose0.55% to 13,011.1;

UK100 rose 0.52% to 5973.6;

Focus Tonight

20:00(GMT+8): OPEC’s World Oil Outlook

20:30(GMT+8): Initial Jobless Claims (03/OCT), Forecast:820K, Previous:837K;