The price of gold soared to a new record high and world shares were mostly lower on Tuesday after U.S. markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday.
The spot price of gold, traditionally a haven for investors in times of uncertainty, climbed as high as $3,578.40 per ounce early Tuesday. That surpassed an intraday record of $3,509.90 an ounce set in April. It later slipped back a bit, gaining 1.1% to $3,549.10 per ounce.
U.S. President Donald Trump's challenges to the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and other institutions have shaken confidence in the U.S. dollar, prompting a shift into alternative investment options, such as gold and silver, analysts say.
The price of silver was up 1.8% at $41.46 an ounce on Tuesday, surpassing $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011.
"That’s not just a price tick; the market confesses that faith in fiat is wobbling," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. He noted that the price of the precious metal has nearly doubled since the beginning of 2023.
Investors have been shifting away from U.S. Treasuries for years, but that shift has accelerated this year due to worries over U.S. government debt, trade tensions and geopolitical risks, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX dropped 1.1% to 23,767.08, while the CAC 40 in Paris was nearly unchanged at 7,707.09. In Britain, the FTSE 100 declined 0.4% to 9,158.78.
The future for the S&P 500 declined by 0.5%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4% lower.
Since Wall Street was closed on Monday, analysts said traders also were still focusing on the potential implications of Friday's ruling by a U.S. court against Trump’s higher tariffs on many countries around the world.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 picked up 0.3% to 42,310.49 as investors snapped up bargains following recent losses. An auction of 10-year Japanese government bonds was expected to test the stability of that market.
Markets in China fell back from recent gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.5% to 25,496.55, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.5% to 3,858.13.
South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.9% to 3,172.35, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gave up 0.3% to 8,900.60.
India's Sensex rose 0.4% and the SET in Bangkok gained 0.4%.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Friday, 7-4, that Trump went too far when he declared national emergencies to justify imposing sharply higher import taxes on almost every country on earth.
The ruling largely upheld a May decision by a specialized federal trade court in New York, but it rejected part of that ruling, striking down the tariffs immediately, giving the Trump administration time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Updates on U.S. durable goods orders, manufacturing, jobless claims and other data that may provide insights into how the economy is holding up under the higher tariffs are due this week. European manufacturing data and a preliminary consumer price index reading for the countries using the euro are also on the agenda.
In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.86 to $65.87 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced $1.22 to $69.37 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 148.54 Japanese yen from 147.18 yen. The euro fell to $1.1635 from $1.1711.
