U.S. Stock Market Declines While Gold and Precious Metals See Strong Gains

On December 9, U.S. stock markets closed lower across the board, while gold and other precious metals posted significant gains.

At the close of trading on December 9, the S&P 500 dropped 0.61% to 6,052.85 points, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.62% to 19,736.69 points, and the Dow Jones lost 0.54%, ending at 44,401.93 points.

On the morning of December 10, the USD Index remained steady at 105.8 points, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield declined to 4.198%.

Gold saw a strong rally during the session, with spot gold rising 1.2% to $2,665.39 per ounce and gold futures up 1.1% to $2,688.40 per ounce. Bart Melek, Head of Commodity Strategy at TD Securities, noted that gold gained momentum after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced the resumption of gold purchases. This fueled expectations that other central banks might follow suit, continuing the trend of record-breaking gold purchases. China, the world's largest official gold buyer in 2023, had paused its purchases since May 2024.

Other precious metals also posted notable gains. January 2025 silver futures rose 3% to $32.321 per troy ounce, platinum futures climbed 2% to $954 per troy ounce, and copper futures increased 2% to $4.25 per pound.

In the coffee market, March 2025 Arabica coffee futures edged down 0.05% to 330.1 cents per pound, while January 2025 Robusta coffee futures rose 1.8% to $5,246 per ton.

Crude oil prices also advanced during the session. Brent crude rose 1.43% to $72.14 per barrel, and WTI crude gained 1.74%, closing at $68.37 per barrel. Oil prices were supported by instability in Syria following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's government and OPEC+'s decision to postpone production increases until April 2025. This move came amid stagnant economic growth and a real estate market crisis in China, which significantly impacted consumer confidence. In response, China announced a "relatively loose" monetary policy—a term not used since 2010—to support the economy in the wake of global financial challenges.

Source: SFVN (Compiled)