Europe, Asia equity markets slump; Wall Street closed for holiday
By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rose Monday, extending recent gains and briefing touching the $1,900-an-ounce level, as Asian and European equity markets posted steep losses.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z +1.16% rallied $18.40 to $1,895.30 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex.
The contract earlier rose as high as $1,900.30 an ounce, according to data from FactSet.
A weak U.S. jobs report Friday helped send gold futures up $47.80, or 2.6%, to $1,876.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Asian equity markets fell Monday as they got their first chance to react to Friday’s data, which showed the U.S. economy didn’t add jobs in August.
Wall Street finished with steep losses Friday, pressured by the jobs data. The U.S. stock markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
In Europe, stocks followed Asian markets lower in early trade.
Chris Oliver is MarketWatch\'s Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.
