Stocks drift, dollar trades at multimonth highs
U.S. Treasury yields rise again, gold hits record
39;Trump trade39; dominates sentiment
LONDON, Oct 23 Reuters Gold prices hit record highs on Wednesday, defying the dollar39;s rise, which kept pressure on the yen and the euro, while global stocks edged lower on investors39; reluctance to place major bets ahead of the U.S. election in less than two weeks.
Investors are also rethinking how much the Federal Reserve might need to cut interest rates after the most recent U.S. economic data pointed to an economy that continues to expand and create jobs.
A month ago, traders were pricing in as much as a full percentage point in cuts by January, whereas now, that expectation is closer to a half point.
U.S. Treasuries have taken a battering, sending yields to threemonth highs and pushing the dollar to multimonth peaks against the euro, sterling and the yen, which is now back at 150 per dollar levels, prompting verbal warnings from Japanese officials.
Stocks, meanwhile, are turning lower, but still near record highs, suggesting that equity investors are focusing more on the positives around the economy and earnings for now, at least.
The MSCI AllWorld index was 0.1 lower on the day, echoing weakness in Europe, where the STOXX 600 was down 0.2. U.S. stock index futures , fell between 0.20.3.
This weeks stock market price action suggests that the 50th record high for the SP 500 could be a tough ask with the U.S. election so…