Gold hits $3,651 as Nasdaq record and France turmoil

Gold climbed to $3,651 per ounce on Tuesday as the dollar index slipped to 97.32 and US Treasury yields fell to five-month lows. The Nasdaq closed at a record 21,798.70 on Monday, lifted by a 3.2% gain in Broadcom and sharp rises in Robinhood and AppLovin after confirmation of their S&P 500 inclusion. In Europe, the FTSE 100 rose 0.1% with Marks & Spencer up 2.9% following a broker upgrade, while French lawmakers ousted Prime Minister François Bayrou, leaving President Macron to name his fifth premier in less than two years.

Equities

Britain’s FTSE 100 closed 0.1% higher on Monday, lifted by gains in banks and industrials, though losses in consumer staples and healthcare restrained the index. Standard Chartered, NatWest and Barclays were among the strongest performers in the banking sector, rising around 1% after weakness at the end of last week.

Rolls-Royce added 1.6%, Experian gained 1.5% and Ashtead rose 1%. Burberry was also in demand, finishing 3.7% higher as personal goods shares advanced 3.1%. Marks & Spencer climbed 2.9% to the top of the index after Citi upgraded the retailer to “buy” from “neutral”.

AstraZeneca fell 0.9%, weighing on the healthcare segment. Phoenix Group sank 7.6% after reporting a larger-than-expected decline in book value linked to market fluctuations and confirming plans to rebrand as Standard Life in March 2026. Consumer staples were weaker, with Unilever down 1.5%. Diageo dropped 3.6%, dragging the beverages sector 2.4% lower. In the mid-cap market, PRS REIT rose 5.5% after US private equity firm KKR joined its formal sale process, while Vistry advanced 1.7% after announcing a joint venture with Homes England to develop community housing.

Across the Atlantic, Wall Street closed higher, with the Nasdaq reaching a record close of 21,798.70, up 0.45% on Monday. The S&P 500 added 0.21% to 6,495.15 and the Dow Jones gained 0.25% to 45,514.95.

Broadcom climbed 3.2%, extending a rally that began last week after the chipmaker forecast strong growth from artificial intelligence revenues. The company’s market value has now reached $1.6 trillion, making it the seventh most valuable stock on Wall Street. Robinhood Markets surged 16% afterhours following confirmation it will join the S&P 500 on 22 September.

AppLovin rose 12% on the same news. EchoStar rallied 20% after agreeing to sell wireless spectrum licences to SpaceX for $17 billion to support the Starlink satellite network. Telecommunications peers fell back, with AT&T and Verizon each down more than 2% and T-Mobile sliding nearly 4%.

Forex & Commodities

The dollar fell to a near seven-week low in Asian trading, with the dollar index slipping to 97.32 ahead of US labour data revisions. Sterling strengthened to $1.358 against the dollar, while the euro traded at $1.178, its strongest level since late July. The yen also gained, moving to ¥147.1 per dollar after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation shifted political attention to his potential successor. The Australian dollar rose to $0.6606, the New Zealand dollar to $0.5949 and the offshore yuan to 7.119 per dollar.

Gold prices extended their record run early on Tuesday, with spot gold up 0.5% at $3,651 per ounce. Gains came as the US 10-year Treasury yield slipped to a five-month low and the dollar index continued to weaken. Other precious metals were also stronger, with silver trading at $41.36 per ounce, platinum at $1,394 and palladium at $1,143.

Oil moved higher after OPEC+ announced it would raise output by just 137,000 barrels per day from October, a smaller increase than traders had forecast. Brent crude rose 35 cents to $66.37 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate climbed 32 cents to $62.58 by early morning trade. Prices were further supported by speculation of fresh Western sanctions on Russia following renewed strikes on Ukraine.