Gold and the stock market rarely shine at the same time. When they do, it usually signals a clash between traditional indicators of caution and optimism—or something deeper at work.

This year gold has surged 44%, while the S&P 500 has climbed 14%. On Monday, both closed at record levels. In 2025 alone, gold and stocks have simultaneously set all-time highs six times; in 2024 it happened ten times. From 1970 through 2023, though, the feat occurred just twice—both in 1972, after President Nixon ended the dollar’s convertibility into gold, unleashing free trade in the metal.

Such a pattern is far from normal, and for good reason.

Gold thrives during uncertainty and has only reached new peaks a handful of times over the last half-century. Stocks, meanwhile, tend to rally when economic prospects look bright—or when investors expect central banks to flood markets with liquidity. Today’s unusual tandem rally suggests investors are hedging for both growth and risk at once. A tumbling dollar also plays a major role.

The U.S. Dollar Index has fallen 10% this year—its steepest slide since a 15% drop in 2003. Because gold is priced in dollars, a weaker greenback lifts the metal’s price and makes U.S. shares more appealing to foreign buyers.

Marko Papic, chief strategist at BCA Research in Montreal, sees the dollar’s slump as the main driver. He argues that the dollar’s long-running strength was built on expectations of U.S. outperformance, fueled by pandemic-era fiscal stimulus. That cash is now spent, and tariffs plus trade frictions have pushed other economies to stimulate at home rather than rely on American demand. Papic calls this the end of U.S. fiscal dominance. “Currencies rise and fall,” he says. “The real mistake is assuming U.S. assets will always lead. That’s not possible.”

Peter Corey, co-founder and chief market strategist at Pave Finance in New York, also points to this double force. Inflation has been cooling since 2022, which supports corporate profits and boosts equities, while the falling dollar makes gold more attractive. “Two key forces are at work,” Corey says. “Disinflation is good for stocks, and the weaker dollar channels investors toward gold.”

He likens the backdrop to the early 1970s: inflation eased from 1970 through 1972, giving stocks room to climb, but then accelerated in 1973, prompting the Fed to double interest rates and sending the S&P 500 tumbling by half. If inflation picks up again, Corey warns, markets could face a similar reckoning. “Investors are far more sensitive to the Fed now than they were 50 years ago,” he notes.

In short, gold and equities rising together is a rare sign of a weak dollar and murky economic prospects. The pairing can persist, but history suggests it won’t indefinitely. Eventually, one market will diverge from the other—whether the economy shifts to lasting growth or slips back into stress will decide which one holds up.

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