Markets mixed as gold hits record high

Markets were mixed on Monday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent but the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.3 percent.

Earlier in Asia, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 percent but the Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 percent.

Gold hit a record high, with futures settling 1.8 percent higher amid rising US-China tensions.

“Gold is probably giving us a warning,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, but added that he is not ready to call the top.

Still, Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, warned that “recovery could be dampened or even aborted if the Covid-19 case count continues to mount and state governors slow or reverse the lifting of lockdown restrictions”.