Stocks mostly climb as gold recovers

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Stocks mostly climb as gold recovers

ECONOMY 03.02.2026

European stock markets mostly rose Tuesday after large gains across Asia, as gold and silver prices strongly rebounded in fresh volatile trading.

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The dollar rose and oil prices steadied as investors weighed company earnings against geopolitical unrest.

The price of gold was up 5.5 percent at $4,917.43 an ounce. Last week it reached a record-high close to $5,600 before tumbling.

Silver surged almost ten percent to $87 on Tuesday, still well short of the record near $120 it hit last week.

"A sense of calm descended after the precious metal ructions, opening the door for investors to buy on the dip," noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.

Hopes for the US economy, boosted by forecast-beating manufacturing data, provided investors a much-needed catalyst for a rally Monday on Wall Street.

That fed through to Asia, where Tokyo closed with a gain of 3.9 percent on Tuesday.

Mumbai's Nifty index soared almost five percent as investors welcomed President Donald Trump's announcement of a US-India trade deal.

Trump also pledged to cut tariffs on the country's goods after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine.

In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris stock markets rose slightly and London dipped nearing the half-way stage.

Investors sat tight ahead of interest-rate decisions due Thursday from the European Central Bank and Bank of England.

The dollar firmed Tuesday, supported by US President Donald Trump recently tapping Kevin Warsh -- considered the most hawkish of his candidates -- to head the Federal Reserve.

On the corporate front, Elon Musk's SpaceX has taken over his artificial intelligence company xAI in a merger aimed at deploying space-based data centres.

According to Bloomberg, the combined company would have a valuation of $1.25 trillion.

All eyes will be on more earnings from major companies this week, with particular attention on the tech sector and planned investment in artificial intelligence.

Traders are keeping tabs also on Washington after Trump urged the House of Representatives to swiftly adopt a spending bill and end a fresh government shutdown.

"The latest US government shutdown looks to provide yet another bout of disruption to the economic calendar for traders and investors alike" with jobs data postponed this week, said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 10,319.73 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,188.34

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 24,860.92

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.9 percent at 54,720.66 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 26,834.77 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 4,067.74 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 49,407.66 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1788 from $1.1793 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3656 from $1.3667

Dollar/yen: UP at 155.92 yen from 155.60 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.32 pence from 86.29 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $66.34 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $62.24 per barrel

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R.T.Gilbert--TNT

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The "Everlasting Battery" Inside Your Joints:UConn Professor's Self-Powered Healing Material just Got Acquired

A material that turns your own movement into medicine has just landed a corporate home. PetVivo Holdings (OTCQX: PETV), a veterinary biotech and biomedical device company focused on treating osteoarthritis in dogs and horses, has acquired PiezoBioMembrane (PBM) — a startup built around a biodegradable implant that generates electricity from the everyday force of a joint in motion, and uses that charge to help regrow cartilage from the inside out. The material is the invention of Thanh Nguyen, a professor of mechanical engineering in UConn's College of Engineering, who founded PBM in 2021 to advance new implementation methods for his work with piezoelectric materials — substances that convert mechanical force into electrical energy. These materials are typically ceramics: hard, brittle, and poorly suited for medical use. But Nguyen's lab developed new forms that are so , flexible, and biodegradable, breaking down naturally within the body over time. wound healing, The materials have already shown strong potential across a range of medical applications, including tissue regeneration, implanted force sensors, and targeted drug delivery in tumor treatment. How It Works biodegradable ultrasound for In the case of arthritis, Nguyen explains, the piezoelectric materials function as an off-the-shelf product that can be implanted or injected directly into the ailing joint — with no drugs, chemicals, or cells required. The everyday force exerted on the joint generates a small electrical charge, which helps regrow healthy cartilage, mimicking the body's natural use of electricity to regenerate tissue. "The body can be electrically stimulated to regrow," Nguyen says. PBM's materials "act like a battery — an everlasting battery that works whenever there is a force applied, and vanishes safely inside the body over time." PetVivo's Vision for the Acquisition PetVivo Holdings CEO John Lai expressed enthusiasm for the merger's potential to improve the lives of companion animals globally. "PBM has developed a compelling functional biomaterials platform with the potential to support the development of multiple medical device and therapeutic product lines across both human and animal health markets," Lai said in a press release. "By combining PBM's scientific innovation with PetVivo's product development capabilities, commercialization experience, regulatory expertise, and public company infrastructure, we believe we can accelerate theadvancement of technologies that may serve as the foundation for numerous future products and strategic opportunities." For Nguyen, the deal is a chance to scale technology that could eventually benefit both animals and people. "PetVivo is an animal health company, but they do have a big passion: pushing the technology towards clinical trials for human use," Nguyen says. "That aligned perfectly with my passion for developing technology that has an impact on human life. That is why I am excited about this merger, which facilitates my passion." A Track Record of Innovation Nguyen's research sits at the intersection of medicine, micro/nanotechnology, and biomaterials. His inventions have earned him publications in prominent scientific journals and media coverage from outlets including NPR. Nguyen founded PBM during the COVID-19 pandemic, a er realizing the material he had developed could be used to create an especially effective, biodegradable face mask — one where the mechanical force of breathing generated an electrical charge that provided an extra layer of protection against viruses. PBM is not Nguyen's only venture in the acquisition pipeline. His other startup, Single-Time Microneedles (STM), is also currently undergoing an acquisition process. STM has pioneered stable, efficient vaccine delivery technology in the form of an adhesive patch. shelfNguyen's focus on biodegradable materials has translated into a remarkably diverse range of medical applications. He has received five R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting research in cartilage regeneration, bone regeneration, HIV antibody delivery systems, and biodegradable ultrasound technology to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy for brain cancer. "Whatever we are working on, we want to show that it works very well in vitro and in vivo," Nguyen says. "Then, when we are at the point of commercialization, we set up a startup or license the technology — or maybe team up with an industry partner." Thanh Nguyen is a professor of mechanical engineering in UConn's College of Engineering. (Courtesy of Thanh Nguyen

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The National Times - Stocks mostly climb as gold recovers