Stocks Climb, Gold Hits Record as Investors Consider More Aggressive Cuts

GLOBAL MARKET - LONDON/WASHINGTON. U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday and gold hit a record high after an overnight upheaval in investor expectations for a supersized Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week.

Stocks, Treasury prices and commodities all rallied after traders raised the chances of a half-point cut from the Fed next week to 41%, from closer to 14% a day ago, before articles in the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal each called the decision "a close call".