SPACkman

By Nicholas Jasinski | Tuesday, June 23

Review & Preview didn’t go out last night due to a technical issue, so we’re resending now. We apologize for the delay.

Streaking. The Nasdaq Composite hit an all-time high Monday for its 20th record close of 2020. The tech-heavy index has gained for seven-straight sessions, and added 1.1% Monday.
One of its better-performing members was Apple, which held its virtual developers conference Monday. The iPhone maker rolled out updates to iOS, MacOS, and several programs. CEO Tim Cook also announced that Apple would soon begin using custom chips in its Mac lineup, replacing Intel-designed processors. Apple already uses its own chip design in iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.

Barron's Eric Savitz has all the updates from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference Monday.
Overall, investors liked what they heard. Apple’s stock closed up 2.6% Monday, at a record high. The shift away from Intel was well telegraphed in advance: the chip maker's stock rose 0.8% Monday on a good day for tech stocks.

Gains elsewhere in the market were more subdued Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both closed up 0.6% Monday.
Over in the commodities market, the price of gold settled at its highest level since 2012 on Monday, at $1,759.30 an ounce.

The precious metal has rallied since last spring, when the Federal Reserve began lowering interest rates. Gold’s rise was supercharged earlier this year, when the Covid-19 crisis caused investors to flock to safe-haven assets. And interest rates around the world went even lower, which reduces the opportunity cost of holding gold.

The latest leg of the gold rally has been spurred by a slightly different set of catalysts. Investors are still uncertain about the future and looking to hedge their risk, but the weaking U.S. dollar has also played a large role.

The U.S. Dollar Index, or DXY, is down almost 6% since late-March—a big move in the world of currencies. It makes an ounce of gold worth that much more in dollars when priced in the currency.
Barron's Connor Smith has more on the recent gold rally and why it could still have legs over at barrons.com.