Gold Eyes All-Time High as Stocks Continue to Feel Pressure
On Monday, spot gold broke above $2,000 for the first time since August 2020 and, yesterday, continued to climb as more investors seek refuge from market uncertainty in safe haven assets.
Gold closed yesterday’s session with a gain of more than 2.5%, taking its year to date gains to 12%, as the precious metal closes in on an all-time high.
Whilst commodities such as gold and oil rise, the stock market continues to feel the weight of inflation, geopolitical tension and anticipated rate rises from the Federal Reserve - who meet next week for their policy meeting.
Yesterday, the main Wall Street indices closed lower for the fourth consecutive session, with the Nasdaq Composite, Dow Jones and S&P 500 falling 0.28%, 0.56% and 0.73% respectively.
On this side of the Atlantic, the UK’s FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 both ended yesterday’s session with moderate gains of 0.06% and 0.25% respectively. This morning, both indices have opened higher, with the FTSE 100 currently up by around 2% and the FTSE 250 up by more than 2.5%.
As earnings season quietens down, this morning, FTSE 100 constituent Legal & General reported strong full-year results for 2021.
The UK-based asset management giant reported profit after tax of over £2 billion for the first time, an increase of 28% year on year (YOY), and Earnings per Share (EPS) of 34.19p, an increase of 72% YOY.
In response to these positive results, the Legal & General share price has gained more than 4% this morning, although remains down by around 14% so far this year.
Legal & General shares have traded around the same levels for more than five years now and, therefore, might not appeal to investors looking solely for growth potential. However, what might be appealing to passive investors is its reliable history of dividend payments.
With the exception of 2020, when its dividend was held flat, Legal & General have continuously raised dividend payments each year since 2009, when it was forced to lower its dividend payment after the financial market crash in 2008.
Its full year dividend for 2021 was 18.45p per share, which, based on yesterday’s closing price, equates to a dividend yield of 7.5%.
Depicted: Admirals MetaTrader 5 – Legal & General Daily Chart. Date Range: 4 November 2020 – 9 March 2022. Date Captured: 9 March 2022. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
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