**Gold Surges to Record High Amid Market Mixed Results**

In a remarkable shift, gold has catapulted past $2,700 to set a new all-time high, with investors flocking to safe-haven assets amidst looming geopolitical tensions and uncertainties surrounding the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Gold traded higher by 0.74%, reaching $2,727.45. Alongside gold, silver and copper also saw gains of 1.64% and 1.03%, settling at $32.295 and $4.3700, respectively.

Contrasting with the positive performance in precious metals, crude oil prices dipped. Crude Oil WTI traded lower by 0.41% at $70.38 per barrel, while Brent fell by 0.43% to $74.12 per barrel. Oil futures remained steady despite recent declines in U.S. crude and fuel inventories and China's new fiscal stimulus announcements, which failed to quell broader demand concerns.

Thursday saw mixed outcomes in the U.S. markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.37%, closing at an all-time high of 43,239.05, driven by strong retail sales data and Taiwan Semiconductor's positive earnings forecast. However, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were both nearly flat, with the S&P 500 edging down 0.02% to 5,841.47, and the Nasdaq up by a mere 0.04%, finishing the session at 18,373.61.

Economic indicators provided some optimism. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index rose to 10.3 in October, and initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 for the week ending October 12. Moreover, retail sales outpaced expectations with a 0.4% increase in September.

Looking at Asian markets on Friday, Japan's Nikkei 225 slightly increased by 0.11% to 38,987.50, buoyed by gains in Power, Banking, and Rubber sectors. Conversely, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped by 0.87%, ending at 8,283.20, primarily driven by declines in Utilities, A-REITs, and Consumer Discretionary sectors. India’s Nifty 50 saw a rise of 0.38% to 24,845.75, while the Nifty 500 increased by 0.24% to 23,430.35.

Chinese markets performed strongly, with the Shanghai Composite up by 2.91%, closing at 3,261.56, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 increasing by 3.62% to 3,925.23. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also saw substantial gains, rising by 3.61% to 20,804.11. This surge in Chinese shares coincided with Q3 GDP growth meeting expectations, expanding by 4.6% year-on-year, supported by better-than-expected industrial production and retail sales for September, alongside a drop in unemployment to 5.1%.

In Europe, the STOXX 50 index was up by 0.63%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.15% and France's CAC rose by 0.58%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 bucked the trend, trading lower by 0.28%.

As of early morning U.S. futures trading, the Dow futures edged up by 0.03%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 futures saw a 0.29% rise. In the forex market, the U.S. dollar index slid by 0.16% to 103.66, with the USD/JPY down 0.21% to 149.88 and the USD/AUD falling 0.19% to 1.4903.