(Updates to midday)

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Gold shows no sign of stopping

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Yen at lowest since February; intervention risk rises

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U.S. stock higher; Fed minutes ahead

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Amanda Cooper

NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Major stock indexes

rose on Wednesday as investors waited for minutes from the last

Federal Reserve meeting, while gold extended its recent rally

above $4,000 an ounce as a prolonged U.S. government shutdown

and expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts drove demand

for the safe-haven asset.

Gold, which is traditionally seen as a store of value during

times of instability, is up 54% year-to-date, after

gaining 27% in 2024. Spot gold was last up 1.41% at $4,039.81 an

ounce, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery

gained 1.5% to $4,063.70.

Shares of gold miners also rose, including U.S.-listed

shares of Gold Fields, up 3.8%.

The Japanese yen reached its weakest level since

mid-February against the dollar as investors worried about an

increase in fiscal spending in Japan, while the euro fell on

ongoing political uncertainty in France.

On Wall Street, stocks rebounded from Tuesday's declines, with

technology shares leading the way higher. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares

were up 1.6%.

"It's rebounding nicely, led by Nvidia ( NVDA ) and AI-related

stocks. It comes down to investors have been optimistic since

April, and that optimism continues to be expressed in spite of a

government shutdown, a slowing employment market or any other

red flags that would normally detract investors," said Oliver

Pursche, senior vice president and advisor for Wealthspire

Advisors in Westport, Connecticut.

Investors have been without most U.S. economic data as the

federal government remains shut. But the Fed will release

minutes from its September meeting later on Wednesday, which

will be scoured for any new clues on Fed policy. The central

bank is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points at its

October 28-29 meeting, according to the CME Group's FedWatch

Tool.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.16 points,

or 0.11%, to 46,656.14, the S&P 500 rose 26.47 points, or

0.39%, to 6,740.96 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 152.53

points, or 0.67%, to 22,940.90.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose

3.05 points, or 0.31%, to 995.21.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.84%.

In France, caretaker Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on

Wednesday a deal could potentially be reached on the country's

budget by year-end, making the risk of a snap election more

remote.

His cautiously optimistic tone helped a modest rally in

French bonds, leaving OAT yields down 5.3 basis points on the

day at 3.52%, but the euro extended recent declines and

last down 0.39% at $1.161.

In Japan, the surprise election of Sanae Takaichi to lead

the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday has

dented the yen on expectations of greater government stimulus.

Against the yen, the dollar was last up 0.45% at 152.59.

It earlier reached 152.99, the highest since February 14.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes was

down 1.4 basis points to 4.113%, versus 4.127% late on Tuesday.

Oil prices were higher. U.S. crude rose 1.8% to

$62.84 a barrel and Brent rose to $66.45 per barrel, up

1.53% on the day.