Gold Tops $4000, AMD Surge Continues, Tesla Falls

Gold surged past $4,000 per ounce overnight, extending this year’s 50% gain as investors shifted into safe-haven assets amid political turmoil in Japan, France and the US. The FTSE 100 closed virtually flat on Tuesday. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell as Tesla dropped 4.5% after unveiling a low-cost Model Y, while AMD gained a further 3.8% following an upgrade from Jefferies.

Equities

London’s FTSE 100 closed almost unchanged on Tuesday, up 0.05%, as strength in energy stocks offset weaker performance in the retail and homebuilding sectors. Mid-cap shares fared worse, with the FTSE 250 falling 0.44%. Oil major Shell gained 1.5% after lifting its third-quarter liquefied natural gas production forecast, supporting the broader energy sector.

Tobacco producer Imperial Brands rose 3.4% after announcing an additional £1.45 billion share buyback programme, while Rentokil climbed 3.9% to top the FTSE 100 following a double upgrade from Bernstein to “outperform”. Luxury fashion group Burberry advanced 3% in step with gains among European peers.

B&M shares fell 7.8% after the discount retailer warned of a decline in annual profit due to weaker sales, the sharpest fall on the FTSE 250.

Homebuilders also came under pressure after data from Halifax showed that annual house price growth slowed to 1.3%, the weakest since April 2024. Vistry dropped 3% and Bellway slipped 1.1%, weighing on the construction sector.

In the United States, Wall Street indices retreated from record highs on Tuesday amid concerns about economic data delays from the ongoing government shutdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.20% at 46,602.98, the S&P 500 lost 0.38% to 6,714.59, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.67% to 22,788.36. Consumer discretionary stocks recorded the largest sector loss, while consumer staples and utilities rose modestly.

Among major movers, Tesla shares dropped 4.5% after launching a lower-cost Model Y, while AMD climbed 3.8% on Tuesday following an upgrade from Jefferies and continued optimism after its supply agreement with OpenAI, which helped lift the shares double digits on Monday.

IBM gained 1.5% after announcing a partnership with AI firm Anthropic. AppLovin surged 7.6%, recovering some of the previous session’s losses as analysts at Citi and Oppenheimer played down concerns over a US SEC probe.

Shares in Trilogy Metals soared over 200% after the White House confirmed plans to acquire a 10% stake in the company. Bitcoin-linked stocks, including Coinbase and Riot Platforms, fell as the cryptocurrency pulled back from record highs.

Forex & Commodities

The US dollar advanced sharply in Asian trading early on Wednesday, climbing to 152.6400 yen, its highest level since mid-February. It’s arguably more a function of yen weakness as investors assess the incoming Japanese government’s fiscal outlook and potential pressure on the Bank of Japan to delay rate hikes.

The greenback also strengthened against the euro, which slipped to $1.1617, and against sterling, which traded lower at $1.3389.

Market sentiment was further influenced by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s surprise decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points, sending the New Zealand dollar down to $0.5739, while the Australian dollar eased to $0.6558.

Spot gold surged past the $4,000 per ounce mark for the first time in early European trading, extending a rally that has lifted prices more than 50% this year amid persistent geopolitical risks and central bank demand.

Analysts noted that global monetary easing and continued reserve diversification into bullion have helped sustain the move, with forecasts now pointing to further gains into 2026.

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after OPEC+ confirmed a smaller-than-expected increase in November output. Brent crude rose to $65.95 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate to $62.26 by mid-morning in Asia, as traders discounted fears of oversupply. US data later today are expected to show a modest rise in crude inventories following industry figures indicating a 2.78 million-barrel build last week.