BANGKOK, Oct 15, (AP): Shares swung higher Wednesday in Europe and Asia, supported by buying of technology shares, as hopes for a US interest rate cut helped to offset worries over simmering trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. Gold rose to new highs, hitting $4,217 per ounce. The precious metal has soared nearly 60% in 2025 as investors seek a hedge against a long list of uncertainties, including higher tariffs and the economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Tuesday that the Fed is slightly more worried about the job market, raising expectations that the central bank will come through with another rate hike. "Rising downside risks to employment have shifted our assessment of the balance of risks,” he said at a meeting of the National Association of Business Economics in Philadelphia.

Traders took heart from his words, given the lack of fresh data due to the US government shutdown, "reading Powell like a haiku - every pause, every syllable weighed for hidden meaning,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. "The message, once decoded, was clear enough: two rate cuts aren’t just a possibility, they’re the main course,” he said.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.4% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. Germany's DAX edged 0.1% higher to 24,251.39, while the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 2.3% to 8,103.60. Britain's FTSE 100 was nearly unchanged at 9,449.83. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.8% to 47,672.67, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong surged 2.1% to 25,973.55.

The Shanghai Composite index gained 1.2% to 3,912.21. In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 2.7% to 3,657.28 as market heavyweight Samsung Electronics advanced 3.7%. Taiwan's Taiex added 1.8%. US indexes bounced Tuesday between gains and losses, weighed down by renewed jitters over friction between Washington and Beijing. The S&P 500 gave up 0.2% to 6,644.31.

The Dow climbed 0.4% to 46,270.46, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.8% to 22,521.70. Markets have gyrated as the U.S. and China have traded harsh words and threats of new trade sanctions and tariffs. Technology stocks are hypersensitive to trade issues since big chipmakers and other companies rely on China for raw materials and manufacturing. China's large consumer base is also important for their sales growth. Chipmaker Nvidia slumped 2.6% and Broadcom fell 3.5%.