Gold Hits Record High

US stock futures rose after another brutal day of trading on Wall Street ended with the S&P 500 closing in correction territory.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.4%. Futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.5%. Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.6%.

President Donald Trump has continued his trade war at a breakneck pace this week, unmoved by falling markets. On Thursday, Trump said at a meeting with the NATO secretary general that he didn't plan to "bend at all" in an escalating round of tit-for-tat tariffs with America's biggest trading partners, recognizing there could be "a little disruption" ahead.

The prospect of a government shutdown this weekend has also been looming large on Wall Street. But, on Thursday night, a breakthrough appeared to be on the horizon with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying he would vote to advance a Republican stopgap spending bill to keep the government open.

On Friday, University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey will provide a snapshot of how consumers are faring with new tariffs amid stubborn inflation. Last month's report showed a dimming outlook on the economy taking hold.

Reuters reports:

Spot gold eased 0.1% to $2,983.78 an ounce as of 0132 GMT, after hitting a record high of $2,990.09 earlier in the session, within touching distance of the key $3,000 milestone.

Bullion is also poised to log a second straight weekly rise, with a 2.5% gain so far.

U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,996.70.

"The risk-off market stance reflects investors' expectations that trade tensions are likely to get worse before it cools, and are turning to safe-haven gold once again as a hedge against portfolio volatility," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.