Stocks fall with chipmakers, gold hits record high

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) –Global stock indexes edged lower on Wednesday as a disappointing forecast from Advanced Micro Devices weighed on chipmakers, while gold prices rose to a record high as uncertainty ahead of next week’s U.S. presidential election drove safe-haven demand.

British stocks hit their lowest level since August as UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said she would raise taxes by 40 billion pounds ($52 billion) a year in her first budget.

Shares of Alphabet rose 2.8% after the company late on Tuesday reported quarterly revenue that beat estimates.

On the flip side, shares of semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices dropped 10.6% after its revenue forecasts and artificial intelligence chip sales disappointed investors. Other chipmakers also slipped, with Nvidia down 1.4%.

After the closing bell, shares of Facebook owner Meta Platforms were down 1.5% after it beat analysts’ estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit but warned of “significant acceleration” in infrastructure expenses related to its AI buildout. The stock ended the regular session down 0.2%. Apple and Amazon.com are due to report results on Thursday.

The market is heavily focused on what these (megacap) companies are going to deliver, their guidance and any signal that perhaps their purchases of AI-related infrastructure could change,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Stocks are up sharply for the year so far, and Krosby said upbeat results from the megacap companies would help to support the overall market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 91.51 points, or 0.22%, to 42,141.54, the S&P 500 fell 19.25 points, or 0.33%, to 5,813.67 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 104.82 points, or 0.56%, to 18,607.93.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 3.14 points, or 0.37%, to 844.94.

Europe’s main stock index fell to its lowest level in over a month as technology and mining stocks led a broader market decline. The STOXX 600 index closed 1.3% lower.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.7%.

Gold rose to an all-time high as uncertainty over the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election boosted safe-haven demand. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,788.87 per ounce, after reaching a record high of $2,789.73 earlier in the session.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, leading Republican Donald Trump 44% to 43% among registered voters nationally, within the margin of error. Other opinion polls show tight margins in the seven election battleground states.

Among riskier assets, bitcoin was down slightly after surging to near its all-time high from March as investors weighed the prospect of a victory by Trump, widely seen as favorable towards crypto.

“Bitcoin has been considered an important barometer for liquidity in the market,” Krosby said, adding that its recent gains have been “associated with a Trump victory.”

Bitcoin was down 0.12% at $72,221.00.

The dollar edged down against other major currencies after stronger-than-expected U.S. data and the UK budget release.

Data showed U.S. private payrolls growth surged in October. The key U.S. jobs report for October is due on Friday.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency against six major rivals, rose to 104.43 earlier in the session but was last down 0.17% to 104.06.

Sterling, which fell as much as 0.6% as Reeves delivered the Labour government’s first budget, was last down 0.34% at $1.2971.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield pared an earlier drop and shorter-dated yields rose on the strong U.S. economic data ahead of Friday’s jobs report.

The economic data this morning was generally good, as anchored by the first estimate of third-quarter GDP, which points towards healthy underlying growth and moderating inflation,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

The benchmark 10-year yield was last down 1 basis point at 4.264%, after reaching a nearly four-month peak of 4.339% on Tuesday.

Employers added an estimated 113,000 jobs in October, according to economists polled by Reuters, but analysts noted the number could be lower due to recent hurricanes in areas including Florida and North Carolina.

Investors were also digesting data showing the euro zone grew faster than expected last quarter. A separate report showed the U.S. economy had maintained steady third-quarter growth.

In the energy market, oil prices rebounded from declines earlier in the week. Data on Wednesday showed U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fell unexpectedly last week.

Brent crude futures settled up $1.43, or 2.01%, at $72.55 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.40, or 2.08%, to $68.61.

(Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York and Tom Wilson in London; Editing by David Evans, Richard Chang and Jamie Freed)