Gold tops $4,400 as Wall Street logs a third day of losses

Gold climbed to $4,400.21 an ounce as of Wednesday's session, up 1.02% and snapping a three-day pullback as a weaker dollar drew in buyers. The move came alongside a third straight losing session for US equities and oil holding near $101 a barrel, as markets continued to digest the escalation between the US and Iran.

What to watch

August's Producer Price Index lands at 8:30am ET today, a preview for tomorrow's Consumer Price Index release. The next Federal Reserve rate decision is September 16, with the market currently pricing roughly 57% odds of a 25-basis-point hike — a reflection of the inflation pressure building from the recent oil spike.

Markets

US stocks closed lower for a third consecutive day on Wednesday as Treasury yields climbed to fresh 52-week highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 405.41 points, or 0.77%, to 52,380.66; the S&P 500 lost 0.48% to 7,636.36; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.64% to 26,253.34.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.23%, Germany's DAX fell 0.42%, France's CAC 40 lost 0.58%, and the FTSE MIB shed 0.95%. The Stoxx 600 opened roughly 0.49% lower, with retail, travel and banking names leading the declines as the regional risk-off tone tracked Wall Street's.

Commodities

Brent crude surged 3.4% to $101.21 a barrel, with WTI near $96.05, after US forces struck five Iranian oil tankers in response to an IRGC attack on a US warship — pushing Brent above $100 for the first time in roughly a month. Gold's move to $4,400.21 came as the dollar's softness offset some of that same risk-off pressure.

Crypto

Bitcoin traded at $78,536 as of 05:55 UTC, up 0.29% from the 00:00 UTC open of $78,306.43, holding within a narrow $77,952–$78,550 overnight range. Ether traded at $2,481.85, up 0.56% from its own midnight open. Among the other majors, SOL added 0.46%, BNB was roughly flat, XRP eased 0.32% and DOGE slipped 0.17% — a quiet, rangebound night for crypto with no standout mover, a milder overnight picture than the sharper "crypto slide" some outlets described.

What it means for crypto trading

Today's PPI print and tomorrow's CPI report are the near-term catalysts to watch: a hot inflation reading would harden the market's bet on a September 16 hike and likely pressure risk assets, crypto included, while a soft print would let bitcoin extend its current quiet consolidation. Oil's climb toward $101 remains the wildcard underpinning the inflation story — a further leg higher on Iran-related supply risk would tighten the read-through to both the Fed's decision and crypto positioning heading into next week.

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