NEW YORK: Global stock indexes fell slightly on Wednesday as disappointing forecasts from Advanced Micro Devices weighed on chipmakers, while gold prices hit a record high amid uncertainty over Approach to next week’s US presidential election has boosted demand for safe haven assets.

British stocks hit their lowest level since August when British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced she would raise taxes by 40 billion pounds ($52 billion) a year in her first budget.

Alphabet shares rose 2.8 percent after the company late Tuesday reported quarterly revenue that beat estimates.

On the other hand, shares of semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices fell 10.6 percent after its revenue forecast and sales of artificial intelligence chips disappointed investors. Other chipmakers also fell, with Nvidia down 1.4 percent.

After the closing bell, shares of Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 1.5% after beating analysts’ estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit, but warned of a “significant acceleration ” infrastructure spending related to the development of AI. The stock ended the regular session down 0.2 percent. Apple and Amazon.com are expected to report results on Thursday.

“The market is heavily focused on what these (mega-cap) companies are going to offer, their directions and any signals that their AI infrastructure purchases might change,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North. Caroline.

Stocks are up sharply since the start of the year, and Krosby said upbeat results from mega-cap companies will help support the broader market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 91.51 points, or 0.22 percent, to 42,141.54, the S&P 500 fell 19.25 points, or 0.33 percent, to 5,813.67 and The Nasdaq Composite fell 104.82 points, or 0.56 percent, to 18,607.93.

The MSCI world stock index fell 3.14 points, or 0.37 percent, to 844.94.

Europe’s main stock index fell to its lowest level in more than a month as technology and mining stocks led a broader market decline. The STOXX 600 index closed down 1.3 percent.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.7 percent.

Gold hit a record high as uncertainty surrounding the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election boosted demand for safe-haven assets. Spot gold rose 0.5 percent to $2,788.87 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $2,789.73 earlier in the session.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, leading Republican Donald Trump 44 to 43 percent among registered voters nationally, within the margin of error. Other opinion polls show tight margins in all seven electoral battleground states.

Among riskier assets, bitcoin fell slightly after hitting its all-time high since March, as investors weighed the prospect of a Trump victory, widely seen as crypto-friendly.

“Bitcoin is considered an important barometer of market liquidity,” Krosby said, adding that its recent gains were “associated with a Trump victory.”

Bitcoin was down 0.12 percent at $72,221.00.

The dollar fell slightly against other major currencies after stronger-than-expected US data and the release of the UK budget.

Data showed that U.S. private payroll growth jumped in October. The key US jobs report for October is due on Friday.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency against six of its main rivals, rose to 104.43 earlier in the session but was last down 0.17 percent at 104.06.

Sterling, which fell 0.6 percent when Reeves presented the Labor government’s first budget, lost 0.34 percent to $1.2971.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield eased its earlier decline and shorter-term yields rose on strong U.S. economic data ahead of Friday’s jobs report.

“Economic data this morning was generally good, as evidenced by the first estimate of third-quarter GDP, which points to healthy underlying growth and moderate inflation,” said Guy LeBas, chief income strategist. fixed at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

The benchmark 10-year yield was last down a basis point at 4.264 percent, after hitting a near four-month high of 4.339 percent on Tuesday.

Employers added about 113,000 jobs in October, according to economists polled by Reuters, but analysts noted that figure could be lower because of recent hurricanes that hit areas like Florida and North Carolina.

Investors were also digesting data showing the euro zone grew faster than expected last quarter. A separate report showed the U.S. economy maintained steady growth in the third quarter.

In the energy market, oil prices rebounded after declines earlier in the week. Data released Wednesday showed U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fell unexpectedly last week.

Brent crude futures rose $1.43, or 2.01 percent, to $72.55 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.40, or 2.08 percent, to $68.61.

(Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York and Tom Wilson in London; editing by David Evans, Richard Chang and Jamie Freed)