European equity markets opened the week on a cautious positive note Monday, as investors positioned ahead of key U.S. labor data and closely monitored political wrangling in Washington over a potential government shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT)<\/strong>, the Stoxx 600<\/strong> rose 0.3%<\/strong>, while Germany\u2019s DAX<\/strong> and France\u2019s CAC 40<\/strong> each inched up 0.1%<\/strong>, and the U.K.\u2019s FTSE 100<\/strong> climbed 0.5%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Healthcare stocks provided a lift to European markets. GSK shares jumped more than 3%<\/strong> after the British drugmaker announced that CEO Emma Walmsley<\/strong> will step down, to be succeeded in January by Luke Miels<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AstraZeneca<\/strong> also gained after confirming it will keep its London listing and headquarters but list shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange<\/strong> instead of via depositary receipts, in a move expected to improve investor access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Technology, industrial goods, and services also outperformed in early trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Markets were already turning their attention to Friday\u2019s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report<\/strong>, seen as a crucial test for the Federal Reserve\u2019s policy path. Economists expect the U.S. added 51,000 jobs in September<\/strong>, compared to 22,000 in August<\/strong>, with unemployment steady at 4.3%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Supporting the labor market remains central to Fed decision-making. Earlier this month, the central bank cut rates by 25 basis points<\/strong>, prioritizing signs of employment weakness<\/strong> despite still-elevated inflation. Updated Fed projections indicated more cuts are likely before year-end, though the pace will depend on data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Markets also kept a wary eye on Washington, where lawmakers face a September 30 deadline<\/strong> to avoid a partial government shutdown. Without a stopgap funding bill, this would mark the 15th shutdown since 1981<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A shutdown could disrupt economic activity and delay release of September payrolls data<\/strong>, amplifying uncertainty for markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gold prices surged to new highs as safe-haven flows intensified on shutdown fears. Spot gold jumped 1.5% to $3,814.91\/oz<\/strong>, while futures rose 0.9% to $3,844.50\/oz<\/strong>, building on a record-breaking rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Precious metals remain supported by expectations that the Fed will continue to lower interest rates<\/strong>, with bullion historically benefiting from both lower yields and times of political\/geopolitical stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast, oil prices pulled back after last week\u2019s gains. Brent crude futures dropped 1.1% to $68.46<\/strong>, and WTI crude futures fell 1.3% to $64.87<\/strong> by 04:08 ET<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The retreat came as Iraq resumed crude exports<\/strong> from its Kurdistan region through Turkey after a 2\u00bd-year halt. Additionally, OPEC+ producers<\/strong> signaled plans for another output hike in November, adding to supply-side pressures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" European equity markets opened the week on a cautious positive note Monday, as investors positioned ahead of key U.S. labor data and closely monitored political wrangling in Washington over a potential government shutdown. By 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT), the Stoxx 600 rose 0.3%, while Germany\u2019s DAX and France\u2019s CAC 40 each inched up 0.1%, and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":98251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-commodities-news","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119319,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119318\/revisions\/119319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\nPharma Sector in Focus: GSK Surge and AstraZeneca Plans<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFed Outlook and Nonfarm Payrolls Awaited<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nU.S. Government Shutdown Risks Loom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nGold Hits Record as Haven Demand Surges<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOil Slips on Iraq Supply and OPEC+ Plans<\/h4>\n\n\n\n