Gold prices continued to rise, US stocks peaked

At the close of the 8/12 session, each ounce of global spot gold rose by $ 8 to $ 1,870. The dollar index nearly bottomed in 2.5 years yesterday, making gold more attractive to holders of other currencies. Congress is expected to vote on a temporary support bill this week, to extend the time to reach an agreement on the economic rescue package during the pandemic.

“Gold prices have passed important technical milestones and recovered. In an environment of real interest rates still under pressure, weakening the US dollar, precious metals prices will generally rise,” said Giovanni Staunovo, analyst. area at UBS said.

As the number of Covid-19 infections increased globally, prompting many countries to re-impose lockdown orders, authorities came under increasing pressure to introduce more stimulus. This year, gold prices are up 23%, as investors want to avoid inflation after huge stimulus packages.

It will also start this week with the Covid-19 vaccine. That being said, the widespread spread of the vaccine may only take place next year. Economic challenges remain and countries will still have to loosen monetary and fiscal restrictions. Analysts predict that the vaccine will have a negative effect on gold from the second half of next year.

The US stock market also surged on December 8, when pharmaceutical company Pfizer began rolling out vaccines in the UK, prompting investors to expect a further economic recovery. The DJIA index closed 0.4% higher at 30,173 points. The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to a record 3,702 points. Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5% to 12,582 points.

Dow, Johnson & Johnson, and 3M were among the strongest DJIA winners, with more than 1% each. In the S&P 500, the energy group had the largest increase, with more than 1.5%.

Pfizer shares rose 3.2% to a two-year high. BioNTech, which co-develops a vaccine with Pfizer, also grew 1.9 percent.

Ha Thu (theo CNBC, Reuters)