Gold rallies in line between the United States and China, Apple news closes shares

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar fell to a nearly two-year low and gold rose further on Thursday when a global equity indicator fell back amid concerns over a possible investigation by Apple Inc, which left the high-flying technology. sector.

Several US states are investigating Apple for misleading consumers, according to a March document obtained by a technology watchdog group. Apple shares fell 4.55% and the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down.

Stock markets had been trading slightly lower before Apple news of concerns about the weakness in the labor market due to the coronavirus pandemic and deteriorating relations between the United States and China.

The dollar fell to 22-month lows against a basket of peer currencies and gold rose for the fifth straight session to nearly $ 1,900 an ounce, up from $ 25 from its all-time high as a rise

Tensions between the United States and China increased the appeal of the safe haven for bullion.

(Graph: spot gold price – here)

Investors are selling the greenback on expectations that the US economy is likely to underperform its peers in the developed world, as the rise in new coronavirus infections led to the overall number of cases in the United States to more than 4 million.

“There has been a change in dollar sentiment,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Forex in New York.

The dollar index fell 0.22% to $ 94.7970, slipping to $ 94,587 at one point, a low last seen in September 2018.

Better-than-expected earnings initially boosted European stocks, with Germany’s Daimler AG forecasting an increase in operating profit at its Mercedes-Benz division and Unilever’s second-quarter sales falling much less than feared.

But Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index closed just 0.08% as Wall Street struggled after data showed that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits unexpectedly

It increased last week for the first time in nearly four months.

Along with Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Facebook and the father of Google Alphabet, they all fell. All five stocks have returned around 35% this year, compared with a 5% decline for the remaining shares in the benchmark index, according to a report by Goldman Sachs.

(Graph: advances from the Wall Street tech triumvirate, here)

The MSCI benchmark index for global equity markets fell 0.77%, down on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.31%, the S&P 500 lost 1.23%, and the technology-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 2.29%.

A further drop in U.S. Treasury yields, with the 10-year benchmark below 0.6%, dampened financial stocks.

“Financials are going to have a hard time participating if we stay this low, with that being the second largest sector in the S&P 500,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.

The 10-year Treasury note fell 1.4 basis points to 0.5807%.

Stocks have risen to their highest level since February, and many country indices erased their decline in March when the coronavirus pandemic sent markets into freefall.

Oil prices fell 2% as the surge in coronavirus cases raised fears of a blow to demand and the latest dispute between the United States and China outweighed the benefit of a weaker dollar.

Brent crude futures settled at 98 cents at $ 43.3 a barrel, while US crude futures fell 83 cents to settle at $ 41.07 a barrel.

US gold futures settled 1.3% at $ 1,890 an ounce.

Investors have flocked to safe haven as they seek refuge from a possible reversal in rising stock prices and a possible surge in inflation following the huge monetary and fiscal stimulus worldwide.

In the currency markets, the euro rose 0.2% to $ 1.1592 as it received approval from the European Union on Monday from a € 750 billion recovery fund to revive the region’s coronavirus-affected economies.

Traders satisfied with the deal have also cut the costs of Italian loans, and 10-year government debt yields fell to a new 4-1 / 2-month low, approaching 1%.