A US Federal Reserve federal open market committee meeting this week opened the door to rate cuts in the US.
The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.5%, Australian stocks declined 0.6% and Japan's Nikkei shed 0.8%. But tension remain elevated, and safe-haven gold advanced to a six-year high of $1,410.78 an ounce on Friday, boosted by the geopolitical tension and the prospect of a US rate cut. At one stage, gold was up nearly 5% on the week."While lower real rates in the US and globally make gold more attractive, the metal is being increasingly viewed as a cardinal asset to hedge against the scrim of unpredictability like the fear of recession and war," Innes said.
The Fed's signal that rate cuts were likely brought some relief, but also raised the spectre of a global currency war.