Gold Hits Record High, Dollar Weakens As Trump's Policy Stance And Fed Chair Criticism Induces Uncertainty

On Monday, April 21, U.S. markets closed lower as President Trump intensified his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, raising fresh concerns over the central bank’s independence. Tech stocks led the sell-off, pulling all major indexes into negative territory. Ongoing trade tensions with China weighed on investor sentiment while anticipation built around upcoming corporate earnings reports.

All 11 sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day in the red, with energy, consumer discretionary, and information technology stocks posting the largest losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.48% to 38,170.41, the S&P 500 declined 2.36% to 5,158.20, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.55% to 15,870.90.

Related: Speculators Ramp Up Bets On Who Will Succeed Fed Chair Powell As Trump’s Pressure Campaign Intensifies

Asia Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.14% to close at 34,230.50, led by losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors.
• Australia’ S&P/ASX 200 closed lower by 0.03% at 7,816.70, led by losses in the IT, Energy and Healthcare sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.18% to 24,170.00 and Nifty 500 rose 0.40% to 22,094.15.
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.25% to 3,299.76, while Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 slid 0.02% to 3,783.95.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.78% higher at 21,562.32.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was down 0.25%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.19%.
• France’s CAC 40 fell 0.28%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.38%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.07% at $63.48/bbl, and Brent was up 1.57% at $67.30/bbl.
• Oil prices rose on Tuesday as traders covered short positions after Monday’s sharp drop, though concerns lingered over tariffs and U.S. monetary policy dampening fuel demand. Gains were limited by progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, which eased supply fears.
• Natural Gas rose 0.70% to $3.037.
• Gold was trading higher by 1.24% at $3,46.86, Silver was up 0.13% to $32.563, and Copper rose 0.82% to $4.7670.
• Gold prices hit a new record high on Tuesday, driven by safe-haven demand amid U.S.-China trade tensions and concerns over Trump’s push to overhaul the Federal Reserve.

U.S. Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.87%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.98% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.99%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.01% to 98.34, USD/JPY was down 0.35% to 140.35, and USD/AUD gained 0.15% to 1.5608.
• The dollar fell to new lows Tuesday as Trump’s criticism of Fed Chair Powell sparked concerns over central bank independence and weakened confidence in the currency.

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