Gold Futures Settle Higher For 2nd Straight Day

Gold futures settled higher on Monday, gaining for a second straight session, as the dollar stayed quite subdued.

The dollar index, which dropped to a low of 103.14, recovered to 103.50 around late morning, but retreated to 103.30 as the day progressed, recording a marginal loss.

Gold futures for December ended higher by $6.50 at $1,923.00 an ounce.

Silver futures for September ended up $0.607 at $23.340 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $3.7185 per pound, gaining $0.0125.

Fears over monetary policy however linger ahead of the central bankers meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later in the week. Minutes of the FOMC released a few days earlier had shown the Fed to be persistent in its focus on inflation combat.

The CME FedWatch tool currently shows a probability of 11.5% for a rate hike of 25 basis points in the review due on September 20. The probability for a quarter-point rate hike in November is however higher at 35.5%.

The People’s Bank of China today lowered its one-year loan prime rate by 10 basis points to 3.45%, and lef the five-year loan prime rate unchanged at 4.2%.

“It was supposed to be a quiet start to the week for gold with China coming to the rescue and some calm before Friday’s Jackson Hole speech by Fed Chair Powell. There is a little bit of nervousness from the long-term bulls as gold futures are getting dangerously close to the $1900 level, which could trigger a wave of technical selling,” says Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA.

Applied Optoelectronics Stock Gains 17%

Shares of Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AAOI) are gaining over 17% on Monday morning.

AAOI is currently trading at $15.09, up $2.29 or 17.89%, on a volume of 6 million shares, above average volume of 3.8 million, on the Nasdaq. The stock opened its trading at $13.49 after closing Friday’s trading at $12.80. The stock has traded between $1.60 and $15.90 in the past 52-week period.

Applied Optoelectronics designs, manufactures, and sells various fiber-optic networking products worldwide. It offers optical modules, lasers, subassemblies, transmitters and transceivers, and turn-key equipment, as well as headend, node, and distribution equipment.

Nordson Corp Q3 Profit Decreases, but beats estimates

Nordson Corp (NDSN) released earnings for third quarter that decreased from last year but beat the Street estimates.

The company’s bottom line totaled $127.9 million, or $2.22 per share. This compares with $141.8 million, or $2.45 per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Excluding items, Nordson Corp reported adjusted earnings of $135.6 million or $2.35 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $2.32 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter fell 2.0% to $648.7 million from $662.1 million last year.

Nordson Corp earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q3): $127.9 Mln. vs. $141.8 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q3): $2.22 vs. $2.45 last year.
-Analyst Estimates: $2.32
-Revenue (Q3): $648.7 Mln vs. $662.1 Mln last year.

-Guidance:
Full year EPS guidance: $8.90 to $9.05

Denver sets new record high with 99-degree day

Denver set a new record-high temperature on Monday, with the mercury clocking in at 99 degrees.

The scorching heat, recorded at Denver International Airport, broke the previous high of 97 degrees set in 2007, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. The high also hit 97 in 1960 and 1903.

Heat records continue to fall in Denver and around the globe as the planet warms.

Three people taken to hospital after emergency vehicle crash

Three people were taken to the hospital to be assessed after a car crashed into an emergency vehicle Sunday in Boulder.

According to a Boulder Fire-Rescue tweet, the battalion chief’s pick-up was hit at 28th Street and Valmont Road. At the time of the crash, the pick-up has lights and sirens on.

In the tweet, Boulder Fire-Rescue asked the public to yield to emergency vehicles and said they were grateful there were no major injuries.

European Economic News Preview: Germany Producer Price Data Due

Producer prices data from Germany is the only major economic news due on Monday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to issue Germany’s producer price data for July. Prices are forecast to fall 5.1 percent annually in June after rising 0.1 percent in June.

At 4.00 am ET, Statistics Poland publishes industrial production and producer prices for July. Economists forecast industrial output to fall 0.6 percent annually after easing 1.4 percent in June. Producer prices are expected to ease 1.1 percent, in contrast to the 0.5 percent increase a month ago.

In the meantime, current account figures are due from Greece.

CMA To Review Restructured Deal By Microsoft To Buy Activision

The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK has opened a new phase 1 investigation into a new, restructured deal by Microsoft to buy Activision. Earlier, the CMA confirmed that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, as originally proposed, cannot proceed.

Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights for existing Activision PC and console games, or for new games released by Activision during the next 15 years, excluding in the EEA. These rights will be divested to Ubisoft Entertainment prior to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision.

Microsoft said the restructured deal is intended to address the concerns set out in the CMA’s Final Report in April. The deal will provide an independent third-party content supplier, Ubisoft, with the ability to supply Activision’s gaming content to all cloud gaming service providers. The deal also proposes that Ubisoft would have the ability to require Microsoft to provide versions of games on operating systems other than Windows.

The CMA noted its new investigation will be carried out in line with the usual Phase 1 processes and the statutory deadline for a decision is 18 October 2023.