US Stock Market Move | Gold stocks rise broadly, with Gold Fields Limited Sponsored ADR (GFI.US) up over 9%.

On Wednesday, gold stocks broadly rose, with Gold Fields Limited Sponsored ADR (GFI.US) up over 9%, AngloGold (AU.US) up nearly 9%, Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. Sponsored ADR (HMY.US) and Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC.US) both rising over 8%, Coeur Mining, Inc. (CDE.US) up over 7%, Newmont Corporation (NEM.US) up nearly 7%, and U.S. Gold Corp. (USAU.US) rising over 4%. International gold prices continued to climb, with spot gold breaking through the $4220.00 per ounce mark, currently reported at $4220.05 per ounce, up 3.50% for the day. The COMEX gold futures contract latest trades at $4279.40 per ounce, up 3.05% for the day. On the news front, market expectations of a potential temporary agreement between the U.S. and Iran, along with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, have eased inflation concerns, and traders have begun to reduce bets on further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, which has driven up gold prices. Currently, the market anticipates one rate hike by the Fed before the end of the year, while just last week, the market expected two hikes. Since gold itself does not earn interest, a reduction in the pace of monetary policy tightening is favorable for gold. Ryan McKay, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, stated that the market's expectations of an agreement between the U.S. and Iran, along with the waning concerns over broader economic risks, have collectively driven up precious metal prices. McKay noted in a report: "The current price levels of gold and silver may also attract short covering flows. The Bank of Korea's resumption of gold purchases has similarly acted as a positive catalyst for rising gold prices. Meanwhile, recent inflows into Asian gold ETFs corroborate that sentiment in the Asian markets has been shifting over the past few weeks."