Gold futures rose more than 1% above US$1,600 an ounce and gold was worth $1,600.60/oz on the spot market at the time of writing.
Palladium surged to a new record and was trading earlier at $2,536/oz on the spot market.
Base metals, bar lead, sank on the London Metal Exchange yesterday.
The S&P500 closed lower, as did European and Australasian indices except the Shanghai Composite Index, which managed a 0.05% gain.
Futures were mixed.
Among the mining majors, Newmont (NYSE: NEM) gained 3.4% as it declared a fourth quarter dividend of 14c.
Its shares have risen above $45 this month for the first time since August 2016 and reached a one-year high of $45.73 yesterday.
Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) lost 0.96% in London yesterday and BHP (ASX: BHP) was down a similar amount in morning trade.