Overnight, spot gold prices surged significantly, with the highest intraday touch reaching $2,661.32 and the lowest at $2,626.99, ultimately closing at $2,657.19.

New highs once again!

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index hit new historical highs, with all three major U.S. stock indices recording gains for five consecutive weeks. As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.97%, standing at 42,863.86 points; the S&P 500 Index increased by 0.61%, reaching 5,815.03 points; the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.33%, closing at 18,342.94 points. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index set new historical highs.

For the week, U.S. stocks collectively closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.21%, the S&P 500 Index up 1.11%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.13%, marking the fifth consecutive week of gains for all three major indices.

In terms of news, a strong start to the third-quarter earnings season has propelled the stock market higher.

On October 11th, local time, the U.S. banking giant JPMorgan Chase released its third-quarter financial report, with both revenue and profit exceeding expectations.

The financial report indicated that JPMorgan Chase achieved revenues of $42.65 billion in the third quarter, a year-over-year increase of 7%, surpassing the market expectation of $41.9 billion; net income was $12.9 billion, a year-over-year decrease of 2%, but still above market expectations; net interest income was $23.5 billion, a year-over-year increase of 3%; net profit was $12.9 billion, higher than the market expectation of $11.6 billion; earnings per share were $4.37, also exceeding market expectations.

Benefiting from the stimulus of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut cycle, the U.S. stock market has continued to strengthen, leading to a significant year-over-year increase of 29% in JPMorgan Chase's investment banking revenue in the third quarter, reaching $2.4 billion, significantly higher than the management's expected 15%.

As a result, U.S. financial stocks collectively rose sharply, with Wells Fargo up 5.59%, Bank of America up 4.95%, Citigroup up 3.59%, Goldman Sachs up 2.52%, and Morgan Stanley up 2.2%.Analysts believe that the strong financial reports from large banks may indicate that the U.S. economy has achieved the so-called "soft landing." Analysts have stated that, under the premise of a rate-cutting cycle and the realization of a soft landing, financial stocks often perform well.

However, Jamie Dimon, the "Wall Street big brother" and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has a somewhat pessimistic view of the economic outlook. He said, "Although inflation is slowing down and the U.S. economy remains resilient, there are still some key issues, including huge fiscal deficits, infrastructure needs, trade restructuring, and the re-militarization of the world."

At the same time, the prospect of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates has become increasingly clear.

The latest data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the U.S. PPI was flat month-on-month in September, indicating that inflation is further stabilizing.

On the evening of October 11th, Beijing time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing that the U.S. PPI rose by 1.8% year-on-year in September, with an estimated increase of 1.6%, and the previous value was revised to an increase of 1.9%; the September PPI was flat month-on-month, with an estimated increase of 0.1%, and the previous value was an increase of 0.2%.

The report shows that the U.S. September core PPI (excluding more volatile food and energy) rose by 2.8% year-on-year, higher than the expected 2.6%, and the previous value was revised to an increase of 2.6%; the September core PPI increased by 0.2% month-on-month, in line with expectations, and lower than the previous value of 0.3%.

Institutional analysis points out that the flat U.S. September PPI indicates that the inflation outlook remains favorable, supporting the view that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.

The Federal Reserve Watch from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange shows that traders' expectations for a 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in November remain unchanged, with the estimated probability of a rate cut approaching 84%.

For the U.S. stock market, Goldman Sachs said in a recent report that it has raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 index in 2024 from 5,600 points to 6,000 points; it has raised its target for the S&P 500 index over the next 12 months from 6,000 points to 6,300 points.In addition to this, investors should also pay attention to news regarding international situations.

How will the gold market perform in the future?

After experiencing a series of fluctuations this week, the gold market has shown a certain degree of resilience. However, in the latest weekly gold survey, there is a divergence of opinions between industry experts and retail investors on the expected gold prices for next week.

In the gold survey, a total of 15 analysts participated, with 7 (accounting for 47%) predicting that gold prices will rise next week, 2 (accounting for 13%) predicting a price decline, and the remaining 6 (accounting for 40%) holding a neutral stance. In the online survey, a total of 157 retail investors voted, with 88 (accounting for 56%) being bullish, 43 (accounting for 27%) being bearish, and the remaining 26 (accounting for 17%) expecting prices to consolidate.