Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] With about two hours to go on Wednesday the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+0.66%) holds a decent lead on the majors, this ahead of the Fed's latest Beige Book which is due out at the top of the hour.

Gold futures settled $43.30 higher (+1.2%) at $3,635.50/oz, driven by a mix of factors. Softer U.S. labor data strengthened expectations of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut later this month, with probabilities nearing 98%. Simultaneously, escalating concerns, from central bank independence being jeopardized to widening global fiscal deficits and soaring long-term bond yields, have reignited safe-haven demand. This is compounded by sustained buying from foreign central banks and ETF inflows into SPDR Gold Trust, pushing holdings to multi-year highs. The confluence of anticipated monetary easing, policy unrest, and flight-to-safety buying underlies gold's latest rally.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is now -0.2% lower to $98.13.