By Chris ThomasJan 3 (Reuters) - Miners gave Australian shares a jump-start on Wednesday, supported by rallying metal prices, while investors were also cheered by Wall Street's strong start to 2018.The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2 percent, or 11 points, to 6,072.3 by 0026 GMT. The benchmark had closed marginally lower on its first day of trade in the year."We saw pretty strong Chinese data...Read More

An ounce of gold gains nearly $80 in the last three weeks. Greenback continues to suffer losses against its rivals. The XAU/USD pair's rally, which started after the pair refreshed its five month-low at $1236 on December 12, hasn't lost any strength on the first trading day of 2018, lifting the pair to its highest level in more than three months at $1315. As of writing, the pair was...Read More

Gold is up 9 of the last 12 Januaries with an average gain of over 4%... and so far 2018 is continuing that trend as the precious metal tops $1315 - its highest since late-September.Read full newsRead More

ML Gold Corp. (TSXV:MLG) ('ML Gold' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce it has commenced a winter drilling program on its recently acquired Stars property (the 'Property' or 'Stars') (see news release dated November 22, 2017). The Stars property is approximately 40 kilometres south-west of Houston, BC and lies within a highly prosperous porphyry belt pa...Read More

Renforth Resources Inc. (CSE - RFR) ("Renforth" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the 2017 Parbec drill program finished on Dec 22, 2017 with a total of 1265m drilled to complete 7 of the planned drillholes.Read full newsRead More

* Oil trades near strongest levels since mid-2015* Retailers up after bullish note* Indexes up: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.8 pct, Nasdaq 1.5 pct (Updates volume, adds details)By Caroline ValetkevitchNEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose in the first session of the new year and the Nasdaq closed above 7,000 for the first time on Tuesday as investors were optimistic that 2018 will bring more gain...Read More

FTSE 100 closes around 40pts downSterling jumps 0.61% against the US dollarNasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones all upUK PMI data misses expectations London shares saw red on the first day back of the year, with FTSE 100 closing down nearly 40 points, or 0.52% lower, at 7,648.It comes as new data showed manufacturing growth had slowed more than expected in December - at 56.3, down from 58.2 in N...Read More

Gold ended 2017 on a strong and solid note with consistent daily gains throughout the final trading days of last year. The rally, which began on December 11th of last year when gold prices hit an intraday low of $1238 per ounce, continues into the New Year. Trading to just over $1300 per ounce on the final trading day of 2017, gold traders continue to have favorable sentiment to the safe haven ass...Read More

Gold ended 2017 on a strong and solid note with consistent daily gains throughout the final trading days of last year. The rally, which began on December 11th of last year when gold prices hit an intraday low of $1238 per ounce, continues into the New Year. Trading to just over $1300 per ounce on the final trading day of 2017, gold traders continue to have favorable sentiment to the safe haven ass...Read More

(Adds view on U.S. dollar, updates prices)Jan 2 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies firmed sharply on Tuesday as the dollar broadly retreated on bets for a slower pace of U.S. interest rate hikes while solid economic growth data in China bode well for the region's raw materials exports. A key dollar index hit a 3-1/2-month low, weighed by expectations of a slower pace of interest rate increases...Read More

The price of copper ended 2017 near a four-year high of $3.30 a pound ($7,260 per tonne) extending the bull run in the red metal for a second year. Measured from its multi-year lows struck at the beginning of 2016, copper has gained more than 70% in value.The copper price surged by 30% in 2017 to levels last seen early 2014What happened in 2017The run started on hopes (since dashed) of massive inf...Read More

* U.S. stocks close higher, boosting global shares* European equities close lower* Euro and sterling gain while dollar drops (Updates to U.S. market close; adds commentary)By Stephanie KellyNEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched record closing highs on Tuesday, the first trading day of 2018, while European equities finished lower and the U.S. dollar fell to it...Read More

(Adds trader comment, update prices)* Canadian dollar at C$1.2507, or 79.96 U.S. cents* Bond prices lower across the yield curve By Alastair SharpTORONTO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened to a 10-week high against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, the first trading day of 2018, as the greenback broadly fell and the price of oil held near its highest in 2-1/2 years.At 4 p.m. EST (...Read More

The Basij militiaman, a paramilitary storm trooper of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, was reportedly swinging an electric shock baton when the crowd of angry protesters closed in around him.Read full newsRead More

In our Midday Market Check newsletter, we highlighted the huge move from Switzerland-based gene editing firm Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP), but that was just part of a much larger theme today. A number of stocks with gene editing exposure saw sharp gains today, and one of the biggest returns came from Editas Medicine Inc (NASDAQ:EDIT). Just take a look at EDIT stock's peers, according to Google Finan...Read More

By Beth PinskerNEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - The first paychecks of 2018 will be dispatched soon, but it may be weeks or months before taxpayers and payroll processors know how the new U.S. tax laws will affect your take-home pay.The Internal Revenue Service said it expected to issue guidance in January on how much in taxes employers should withhold based on the new tax rates. Employers and payroll...Read More

The first trading day of 2018 started on a strong note, with the Dow up nearly 145 points out of the gate this morning. The blue-chip index peaked early in the session, though, despite upbeat manufacturing data and an extended slide for the U.S. dollar. While the Dow finished just off its intraday high, New Year's week is firmly on pace to extend its bullish track record -- and the S&P 500 and Nas...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices continued to rally during after-hours trading on Tuesday, while palladium surged to a record high, as weaker U.S. dollar provided additional support for the precious metals.Spot gold on Kitco.com was last trading at $1,317.20 per ounce, up 1.13% on the day. Spot palladium was at $1,086.00 per ounce, up 3.13% on the day, after almost hitting $1,090 earlier in the session....Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices continued to rally during after-hours trading on Tuesday, while palladium surged to a record high, as weaker U.S. dollar provided additional support for the precious metals.Spot gold on Kitco.com was last trading at $1,317.20 per ounce, up 1.13% on the day. Spot palladium was at $1,086.00 per ounce, up 3.13% on the day, after almost hitting $1,090 earlier in the session....Read More

(Adds details on market activity and updates prices to close)* TSX ends up 100.86 points, or 0.62 percent, at 16,309.99* Index posts record-high close* Five of the TSX's 10 main groups end higher* Energy rallies 2.3 percent, materials gains 2.7 percent TORONTO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a record high on Tuesday, the first trading day of the year, as the recent rally in...Read More