Gold slides further as global stocks retreat amid earnings disappointments

Gold prices fell again Wednesday while major stock markets around the world mostly declined, weighed down by disappointing corporate earnings and renewed concerns over global trade tensions.

In the United States, all three main indices finished lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreating 0.7 percent to 45,590.41 after hitting a record high the previous day. The S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent to 6,699.40, and the Nasdaq slid 0.9 percent to 22,740.40.

Investor sentiment was dented by lackluster results from Netflix, which tumbled more than 10 percent after missing quarterly earnings forecasts. The streaming giant said that without a costly tax dispute in Brazil, it would have surpassed its operating margin target.

“Any time you’ve got stocks that are priced with high expectations, if you’re not meeting those expectations, then the market is going to struggle with that,” said Dave Grecsek, partner at wealth management firm Aspirant. He added that the market may be “overextended” in its recent enthusiasm for artificial intelligence stocks.

Adding to the downbeat tone, Tesla reported a 37 percent drop in quarterly profit to $1.4 billion, missing analyst expectations. The company cited tariffs and rising expenses as key drags on performance.

European stocks also closed lower following similar declines in Asian markets earlier in the day. Paris’s CAC 40 lost 0.6 percent, and Frankfurt’s DAX fell 0.7 percent. London’s FTSE 100 bucked the trend, rising 0.9 percent as the pound weakened on softer UK inflation data, fueling speculation that the Bank of England could cut interest rates later this year.

In Paris, cosmetics giant L’Oréal slid 6.7 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings, with U.S. tariffs dampening sales in the American market. By contrast, Barclays and UniCredit posted solid results, easing fears of renewed instability in the banking sector.

Gold, meanwhile, continued its steep decline, falling another 1.4 percent to about $4,060 an ounce after plunging six percent on Tuesday. The sell-off came just two days after gold hit a record high above $4,381 an ounce.

Traders are “desperately trying to gauge whether Tuesday’s historical collapse was indicative of a new period of weakness or simply a case of blowing off steam after a dramatic surge into record highs,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Gold miners’ shares were hit hard by the slide, contributing to broader market losses.

Elsewhere, lingering U.S.-China trade tensions continued to unsettle investors as both sides traded fresh statements of defiance, raising doubts over the global economic outlook.

Key market figures at around 2055 GMT:

New York – Dow: 45,590.41 (-0.7%)

S&P 500: 6,699.40 (-0.5%)

Nasdaq: 22,740.40 (-0.9%)

London – FTSE 100: 9,515.00 (+0.9%)

Paris – CAC 40: 8,206.87 (-0.6%)

Frankfurt – DAX: 24,151.13 (-0.7%)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: 49,307.79 (flat)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: 25,781.77 (-0.9%)

Shanghai – Composite: 3,913.76 (-0.1%)

Currencies and commodities:

Euro/dollar: $1.1606 (up from $1.1600)

Pound/dollar: $1.3356 (down from $1.3371)

Dollar/yen: ¥151.99 (up from ¥151.93)

Euro/pound: 86.90 pence (up from 86.76 pence)

Brent crude: $62.59 per barrel (+2.1%)

West Texas Intermediate: $58.50 per barrel (+2.2%)