Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+0.29%) is in first place, up about 65 points with about two hours to go on the session.

Gold futures settled $24.30 higher (+0.6%) at $3,897.50/oz, primarily driven by safe-haven demand amid heightened political and macro uncertainty. The immediate catalyst appears to be the U.S. government shutdown, investors are worrying that the funding impasse will delay key economic data (notably the September nonfarm payrolls), which makes the Fed's path more dovish. At the same time, a softer U.S. dollar is aiding bullion's appeal, and weak/hazy economic signals are bolstering expectations of a Fed rate cut in October.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is down less than -0.1% to $97.78.