July 28 (UPI) — Major U.S. markets rose on Monday behind strong performances by tech stocks, while gold prices hit a record high, signaling concern from investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 114.88 points, or 0.43%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.74% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.67%.
Markets were driven higher as Netflix stock jumped 3.16%, Apple rose 2.37%, Amazon gained 1.54%, Alphabet increased 1.41% and Facebook was up 1.21%.
Moderna stock also rose 9.15% as the drugmaker began a 30,000-patient, third-stage clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate after receiving an additional $472 million from the U.S. government.
Plans by Republican lawmakers to introduce a bill for another round of coronavirus stimulus also loomed over the markets on Monday, amid reports the measure would provide another round of individual payments while decreasing unemployment benefits.
Meanwhile, gold futures hit an intra-day high of $1,941.90 per ounce and ultimately ended with a gain of 1.8% at 1,931.50, indicating worry among traders.
“Gold is probably giving us a warning … but the market continues to chug along higher,” JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, told CNBC.
On the year, gold has risen more than 26%, placing it on pace for its greatest single-year gain since 2010.
Kinhan, however, said the surge in gold prices would be more concerning if the 10-year Treasury yield were declining and the CBOE Volatility Index — which fell 4.26% Monday — were rising.
David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron, told The Wall Street Journal that “there are still a lot of things to be worried about.”
“You’re seeing money slipping out of the stock market or out of other assets and just eking into gold,” Govett said. “Gold, as a small market, is moving a long way as a result.”
