Gold Nears $4,000 as Yen Plunges, Bitcoin Tops $125,000

Gold surged to within $75 of $4,000 an ounce while bitcoin climbed above $125,000, driven by a weakening yen and political shifts in Japan. Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a new all-time high near 48,000 after Sanae Takaichi’s surprise election win fuelled bets on further fiscal stimulus and delayed BOJ rate hikes. Meanwhile, the US dollar faced renewed pressure amid an ongoing government shutdown and investor concern over fiscal policy.

Equities

London’s FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Friday, rising 0.7% and securing a 2.2% gain for the week — its strongest weekly performance since April. Financial stocks led the advance, with banking shares climbing 1.8% and investment banking stocks up 2%.

Healthcare shares continued their rally, recording a 12% weekly gain after optimism surrounding Pfizer’s new agreement with the US government eased concerns over the sector’s regulatory outlook. Precious metal miners also benefited from stronger gold prices, with Fresnillo up 1% and Endeavour Mining gaining 2%. Technical distributor Diploma added 2.3% after RBC upgraded its rating to “outperform” from “underperform”.

Pub operator J D Wetherspoon fell 5.6% on Friday after warning of higher costs tied to potential tax rises and increased national insurance contributions. A survey published the same day showed that UK business activity grew at its slowest pace in five months in September, as firms delayed spending decisions ahead of November’s budget, when finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to outline tax changes.

Across the Atlantic, US markets ended Friday’s volatile session mixed. The S&P 500 edged 0.01% higher to a record close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%. For the week, all three indices advanced more than 1%. Utilities stocks were among the day’s strongest performers, rising 1.2%, while technology shares weakened.

Applied Materials fell 2.7% after trading late on Thursday, when the semiconductor equipment maker forecast a $600 million hit to its 2026 revenue. Tesla shares declined 1.4% on Friday, continuing their recent weakness.

Investors reacted to a series of data delays caused by the US government shutdown, now in its third day. The September nonfarm payrolls report was not released, but a survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed that US services employment contracted for a fourth consecutive month. That reinforced market expectations for further Federal Reserve rate cuts following September’s 25 basis-point reduction — the first since December. Meanwhile, USA Rare Earth surged 14.3% after its chief executive told CNBC the firm was “in close communication” with the White House.

Forex & Commodities

The US dollar held steady early on Monday, with the dollar index flat at 98.08 as traders weighed policy signals from the Federal Reserve and the ongoing US government shutdown. The yen weakened sharply to 150.35 per dollar after Sanae Takaichi’s weekend victory in Japan’s ruling party leadership contest, while the euro eased to $1.1720 following changes to France’s finance ministry. Sterling traded slightly lower at $1.3450, and the offshore yuan was marginally weaker at 7.1456 per dollar. The New Zealand dollar was unchanged at $0.5832 ahead of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s rate decision on Wednesday, and the Australian dollar edged up to $0.6603.

Gold climbed above $3,900 per ounce for the first time, reaching a record high of $3,944 before settling around $3,925 later in the session. The rise reflected safe-haven buying as the yen weakened and uncertainty persisted over the US fiscal outlook. Demand for precious metals was further supported by expectations of additional Federal Reserve rate cuts this month, with investors widely anticipating two further 25-basis-point reductions before year-end. Silver traded at $48.46 per ounce, platinum at $1,608 and palladium at $1,264.

Oil prices edged lower ahead of Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting, where eight member countries are set to discuss another output increase. Saudi Arabia is pressing for a larger production hike to regain market share, while Russia is backing a smaller rise. Brent crude traded just above $64.00 a barrel on Friday, down more than 7% over the week as markets anticipated higher supply from the producer group.