Gold surged to a new record high near $5,595/oz before a pullback to below $5500/oz. The FTSE 100 index is positioned for fresh highs after bouncing off its 100-day moving average from a technical perspective. While US and European officials tried to speak positively to support the dollar, the currency remained shaky. Regionally, South Korea’s stock market saw a small daily rise that pushed its total gains for January to a massive 23%, while Taiwan’s market is up nearly 13% for the month. However, not every country did well; Indonesia’s stock market dropped for a second day after warnings that their trading rules weren't clear enough.