Australian shares are expected to rise cautiously as gold prices and the Nasdaq hit record highs again.
ASX futures were up 26 points, or 0.4 per cent, by 8:25am AEST.
The Australian dollar had risen moderately to 71.97 US cents.
Once again, safe-haven demand lifted (+1.1pc) the spot price of gold to around $US2,041 an ounce. Gold has gained nearly 35 per cent so far in 2020 and is one of the year’s best-performing assets.
The precious metal climbed above $US2,055 an ounce, its overnight peak, before retreating slightly.
Silver did even better, having surged 3.9 per cent to a seven-year high of $US27 an ounce. Since the year began, silver prices have skyrocketed by 48 per cent, outperforming even gold.
They were boosted by the weaker US greenback, on expectations more stimulus would be pumped into the American economy as it struggled to control the coronavirus outbreak.
The US dollar standard of the past 50 years is being openly questioned because of the US Federal Reserve’s enormous increase in money supply, said Ryan Giannotto, director of research at alternative ETF provider GraniteShares.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index jumped 373 points (or 1.4 per cent) to 27,201, while the S&P 500 added 0.6 per cent to 3,328.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed to its highest level ever, after it gained 0.5 per cent to 10,998 points.
US markets were boosted by Disney shares (+8.8pc) after a surprise quarterly profit, despite a huge drop in the number of people visiting its theme parks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oil prices also recovered strongly. Brent crude gained 1.8 per cent to $US45.22 a barrel, back to where it was in early March.
Iron ore made slight gains (+0.2pc) to $US118.10 per tonne.
ABC/Reuters
