Gold clawed back ground in Asian trading on Wednesday, snapping part of the prior session’s slide as a global risk-off tone funneled investors into traditional safety plays ahead of key U.S. labor data. Spot bullion rose 0.9% to $3,966.56/oz by 00:47 ET (05:47 GMT), while U.S. gold futures edged 0.3% higher to $3,974.10. The metal fell nearly 2% on Tuesday, touching a one-week low, after a stronger dollar and fading rate-cut hopes pressured prices.

A fresh bout of market nerves helped turn the tide. Caution spread after the chiefs of two major Wall Street banks warned that richly valued equities—particularly in AI-exposed names—could be vulnerable to a sharp pullback. The remarks sparked steep losses on Wall Street and dragged Asian shares lower, reviving demand for gold as a store of value amid heightened volatility.

Still, the medium-term backdrop remains mixed. Traders have pared expectations for another Federal Reserve cut this year after Chair Jerome Powell signaled that a December move is “not a foregone conclusion,” tempering one of gold’s key supports. The U.S. dollar, hovering near a three-month high, continues to blunt bullion’s appeal for non-U.S. buyers, while tentative easing in U.S.–China tensions has sapped some safe-haven inflows and capped upside momentum.

Attention now turns to the ADP National Employment Report later Wednesday for a read on labor-market resilience and its implications for the Fed’s near-term path. With several official releases delayed by a partial U.S. government shutdown, the private-sector print may carry outsized influence on rate expectations—and by extension, on real yields and gold.

Elsewhere in metals, a modest dip in the dollar helped peers firm. Silver futures rose 0.4% to $47.49/oz, while platinum added 0.2% to $1,542.75/oz. LME copper ticked higher—around $10,700/ton—and COMEX copper climbed 0.9% to $4.97/lb, as traders balanced the dollar move against ongoing growth concerns.