The market giveth, the market taketh away
What happened to precious metals this week?
Silver finally snapped and it did so violently. After a near vertical run, prices collapsed with all the grace of a meme trade, suggesting that it is, in fact, a meme trade. Spot silver fell hard, but gold held up better, showing that it’s still the king of precious metals.
The problem is not physical demand but more about leverage, options and speculative trades feeding on themselves. Exchanges raised margins on gold and silver contracts (a move designed to protect the market against steep price movements), which poured accelerant on the sell-off. Dealer risk management flipped from buying strength to selling weakness. Stop orders were triggered (instructions to buy or sell an asset when it reaches a specific price), causing a chain reaction. Silver’s fundamentals did not disappear overnight; industrial demand is still there. Solar, electronics and catalysts are all intact. But fundamentals do not set prices when positioning is extreme; liquidity does. The comparison to meme stocks is uncomfortable but accurate. When a trade becomes narrative driven and volatility becomes the attraction, sustainability stops mattering.
What’s happening to big tech stocks?
This was a rough week for the idea that good numbers will protect you. Alphabet’s results were higher on revenue and earnings, yet it still saw its stock price fall sharply. Its management had ordered a massive increase in AI-related capital expenditure for 2026, more than doubling last year’s spend and 50% above expectations. However, markets did not hear ambition but instead heard margin pressure. Infrastructure, DeepMind and Waymo all contributed to short-term drops in Alphabet’s stock price. The irony is that the long-term AI story is arguably getting stronger. Cloud growth metrics are impressive. The financial models continue to progress. But in a market already nervous about software disruption and capital intensity, investors are choosing to reduce their risk first and ask questions later.
Qualcomm added a different flavour of discomfort. The company’s forecast was disappointing, despite a solid quarter, with management pointing squarely at memory shortages. Data centres are absorbing capacity, meaning consumer electronics are left fighting for scraps at higher prices. Smartphones are not weak, supply is. That distinction matters long term, but short term, the stock still took a hit. This week reinforced a broader theme: AI spending is rewarding infrastructure and memory producers. It’s less friendly toward companies caught between rising input costs and delayed monetization.
What happened with crypto this week?
Bitcoin slipped below 70,000, which was not just a technical event but also psychological one. Once that level was passed, selling accelerated and confidence dipped. Bitcoin is now down roughly 20% on the week and more than 45% from its October peak. What made this move notable was not so much the volatility (which crypto has always had plenty of), it's more about Bitcoin failing again to behave like digital gold. Gold rallied over the past year, Bitcoin did not. Instead, it traded like a highly volatile asset. Institutions switched from buying to selling crypto, and ETFs turned into net sellers. Long-dormant supply woke up, and forced liquidations did the rest. Over $2 billion in crypto value was wiped out this week alone.
How’s the U.S. economy looking?
On a more positive note, U.S. manufacturing data came in way above expectations and at its highest level since 2022. So, whatever’s happening elsewhere, the overall economy appears to be in good shape.
Looking ahead, markets will stabilize; they always do. Even though this was a week where excess was repriced across multiple corners of the market, leverage built up and volatility spiked. Nothing systemic broke, but several illusions did. The question is not whether risk returns, but what form of discipline it will demand next.
Listen to the latest podcast from the IG Investment Strategy Team for further insights.
