Stocks drop, gold futures hit $4,000/oz

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 3.93 points, or 0.39%, to 992.13

Stock indexes dropped on Tuesday, with investors eyeing political upheaval in France, Japan and a U.S. government shutdown, while gold futures hit $4,000 an ounce for the first time.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 3.93 points, or 0.39%, to 992.13.

In Japan, investors snapped up a sale of government debt, in a sign of easing nervousness after Sanae Takaichi, a proponent of low rates and high spending, was elected leader of the ruling party, prompting a selloff in domestic bonds and the currency and sending stocks to record peaks.

The Japanese yen weakened 1.05% against the U.S. currency to $151.95, while the euro was down 0.47% at $1.1655.

The euro dropped against the U.S. dollar for a second day as investors awaited developments in France, where the shock resignation of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Monday raised concerns about the country’s fiscal outlook.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slid 0.17%. French blue-chip stocks gave up gains to close flat after a sharp selloff on Monday triggered by Lecornu’s abrupt resignation.

With tech stocks and stocks being at all-time highs and gold being at all-time highs, something has to give, said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Are the nervous Nellies of gold right, or is the AI trade correct? That’s what we’re going to find out in the weeks and months ahead.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 91.99 points, or 0.20%, to 46,602.98, the S&P 500 dropped 25.69 points, or 0.38%, to 6,714.59 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 153.30 points, or 0.67%, to 22,788.36.