Market Insight | Gold stocks collectively open higher as the European Central Bank cuts interest rates again, combined with strengthened expectations of a US rate cut, pushing gold prices to a new all-time high

Gold stocks collectively opened higher. As of the time of publication, Lingbao Gold rose by 6.6% to HKD 3.07, Shandong Gold rose by 4.31% to HKD 15, Zhaojin Mining rose by 4.3% to HKD 12.62, and China Gold International rose by 3.87% to HKD 29.5. On the news front, stimulated by the European Central Bank's announcement of interest rate cuts and expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve, spot gold broke through $2560 per ounce, once again hitting a historical high. The European Central Bank announced its latest interest rate decision, lowering the key deposit rate by 25 basis points, and the main refinancing and marginal lending rates by 60 basis points. In addition, the U.S. PPI and core PPI rates for the month recorded 0.2% and 0.3% respectively, both higher than expected but revised down from the previous values; the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose modestly to 230,000 last week. The market generally expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the upcoming meeting. CITIC Securities previously stated that looking ahead, they continue to be optimistic about the allocation value of gold under interest rate cuts