US stocks surged on early Wednesday as markets weighed the latest commentary on US-China trade tensions and strong bank earnings.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was “optimistic” about the state of play with Beijing after some ups and downs in recent days, adding that talks are “at a very high level.”
At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 104.7 points, or 0.23%, to 46,375.17. The S&P 500 rose 44.0 points, or 0.66%, to 6,688.27, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 216.8 points, or 0.96%, to 22,738.496.
Bank of America rose 4 per cent and Morgan Stanley jumped 7 per cent after their third quarter results.
Crude Oil
Oil prices bounced back on Wednesday, snapping a sharp decline that had pushed them to five-month lows in the previous session. The rebound came as investors carefully assessed the latest escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China.
By 1300 GMT, global benchmark Brent crude futures had gained 53 cents, or 0.85%, climbing to $62.92 a barrel. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures saw a slightly larger percentage gain, rising 62 cents, or 1.06%, to trade at $59.32 a barrel.
Bullion Market
Gold prices breached the $4,200 per ounce mark for the first time on Wednesday, extending a record rally as rising speculation over interest rate cuts and geopolitical jitters sent investors flocking to the safe-haven metal.
Spot gold rose 1.6% to $4,206.59 per ounce as of 14:19 GMT, having hit an all-time high of $4,217.95 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery gained 1.4% to $4,222.30.
Elsewhere in the precious metals market, silver climbed 2.4% to $52.69, platinum rose 1.2% to $1,657.45, and palladium added 1% to $1,541.50.
