On Thursday, gold futures hit?$1,300 an ounce, representing its greatest close since Nov. 7 thanks to January U.S. retail sales falling more than expected and an increase in weekly jobless claims. ?
April gold settled at $1,300.10 an ounce, up $5.10 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting a $1,301.60 high. In the last seven trading days, gold contracts have increased almost 4%, reported MarketWatch.
So what’s next for gold? ?One bull, Brian Stutland?of the Stutland Volatility Group,?said to CNBC,?”When you look at gold, it’s been all about the technicals,” said. “As soon as we broke above $1,275 basically, it’s been a straight push to $1,300. I think it continues?I’m looking around that $1,320, $1,340 level where gold could probably trade. The technical are just too strong behind it.”
March silver also rose on the news and for an eighth consecutive day, increased. The contract closed at $20.395, up 5 cents (0.3%).?
Over in the stock market with a day that included positive earnings and deals news,?the?Nasdaq?Composite (COMP) saw its sixth straight day of increases as it rose?39.38 points (0.9%), to 4,240.67. Year-to-date, the index is up 1.5%.?
The?Dow Jones Industrial Average?(DJIA) also rose on Thursday. It closed up?63.65 points (0.4%) at 16,027.59 while the?S&P 500 (SPX) ended its day up?10.57 points (0.6%) to close at 1,829.83. Both have increased in the last 5 of 6 trading days.?
The VIX closed at 14.14, down 0.16 (1.12%).
Here’s what’s on tap for Friday:
Economic numbers: Import prices (8:30 a.m. ET), Industrial production (9:15 a.m. ET) and Consumer sentiment (9:55 a.m. ET).
Earnings:?Brookfield Asset Management,?Campbell Soup, Interpublic, Petrobras, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Scripps Networks, TRW Automotive and?VF Corp.