U.S. stocks pulled lower by financials; gold hits record highs
Item 1 of 3 Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., October 16, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Wall Street stocks turned negative while gold prices surged on Thursday as declining financial shares and simmering trade tensions between the United States and China dampened investor enthusiasm.
All three major U.S. stock indexes reversed earlier gains by late morning as safe-haven seekers continued to send gold to fresh highs.
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“In the absence of data, the banks are going to be providing the sort of data substitute,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. “We’re seeing hefty declines in some of these banks and financials that are especially credit sensitive, so maybe credit quality is deteriorating.”
“The dollar’s pretty weak today, and crypto’s getting killed too,” Carlson added. “It’s a risk-off day.
Financial markets are pricing in a 96.8% likelihood of an October rate cut, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Trade uncertainty is one driver helping to launch gold prices to all-time highs, according to Stovall.
“Because of the trade tensions, a lot of central banks, global central banks are buying gold and that is being helped by lower interest rates as well as the weakening U.S. dollar,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York. “It’s not a reaction to worries about the global economy, but rather political uncertainty.”
The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.29% to 98.39, with the euro up 0.33% at $1.1683.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 7.1 basis points to 3.975%, from 4.045% late on Wednesday.
The 30-year bond yield fell 5.6 basis points to 4.5834% from 4.639% late on Wednesday.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 8.6 basis points to 3.42%, from 3.506% late on Wednesday.
U.S. crude dropped 1.39% to settle at $57.46 a barrel, while Brent settled at $61.06 per barrel, down 1.37% on the day.
Spot gold rose 1.83% to $4,284.60 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 2.47% to $4,280.00 an ounce.
Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Marc Jones in London and Kevin Buckland in Tokyo; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Cynthia Osterman
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