In a mostly quiet day on Wall Street, gold and silver took center stage again, smashing through record highs. Gold surged to $4,270 per ounce, while silver jumped to $53.90. Investors continue pouring into these safe-haven assets, especially with uncertainty in the broader market.

Gold had another strong day, rising 1.5% on Thursday. That marks its 14th positive close out of the last 16 sessions. So far this year, gold is up an incredible 63%, making it one of the best-performing assets in decades—on track for its strongest annual gain since 1979.

Gold mining stocks are also soaring. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) gained another 4% on Thursday, following a 3.9% rise the day before. This brings its total gain for the week to 12%, and its year-to-date return to a staggering 150%. That performance makes GDX the top-performing equity fund on Wall Street right now.

For comparison, even hot sectors like artificial intelligence are lagging behind. The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) is up just 30% so far this year.

Helping fuel Thursday’s jump in precious metals were dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. He suggested it might be time for another interest rate cut at the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

Waller stated, “Based on current labor market data, I believe we should cut rates by another 25 basis points.” He added that interest rate policy should move toward a “neutral” level—about 1 to 1.25 percentage points lower than where rates are today.

Meanwhile, major U.S. stock indexes stayed mostly flat. The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones barely moved. However, the Russell 2000, which tracks smaller companies, fell by 1%, showing weakness in small-cap stocks.

Semiconductors stood out as a bright spot. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) beat earnings expectations and gave strong guidance, boosting confidence in the chip sector. Micron Technology (MU) popped nearly 6%, while NVIDIA (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO) both climbed around 1%.

On the downside, cryptocurrencies fell again. Bitcoin dropped over 2% to $108,000, marking its third straight daily loss and nearing its lowest level since July. Ethereum dropped 2.7%, and Solana fell nearly 4%.

Here’s how major ETFs and indices performed on Thursday:

– Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): Flat at $610.87
– SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA): Down 0.1% to $462.05
– Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ): Up 0.2% to $603.54
– iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM): Down 1% to $247.83
– Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE): Up 0.5%
– Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF): Down 1.3%

Earnings reports also moved some individual stocks:

– Charles Schwab (SCHW): Up 0.9%
– Marsh & McLennan (MMC): Down 5.6%
– Bank of New York Mellon (BK): Up 0.4%
– U.S. Bancorp (USB): Up 0.5%
– Kinder Morgan (KMI): Down 0.9%
– Travelers Companies (TRV): Down 2.6%
– United Airlines (UAL): Down a sharp 9.4%
– M&T Bank (MTB): Down 2.6%
– KeyCorp (KEY): Down 3.7%
– Snap-on Inc. (SNA): Up 4.3%
– J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT): Surged 19.7% after strong results
– Rexford Industrial Realty (REXR): Up 1.9%
– First Industrial Realty Trust (FR): Up 1.4%
– Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP): Down 2.7%
– MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX): Down 0.8%
– Synovus Financial Corp (SNV): Down 2.7%

Stocks scheduled to report earnings after the market close included CSX Corp (CSX), Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR), Watsco Inc (WSO), and MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX).

Key Market Trends:

– Gold prices at record highs; gold mining ETFs leading gains
– Fed hints at more rate cuts driving metal prices higher
– Semiconductor stocks rise on strong earnings
– Crypto market pulls back; Bitcoin near multi-month lows
– Small-cap stocks under pressure while real estate shows strength

Keywords: gold price surge, silver record high, GDX ETF rally, interest rate cut, Federal Reserve policy, semiconductor earnings, Bitcoin drop, stock market update, inflation hedge assets, AIQ ETF performance