📊 Stocks: Mixed Week With Big Moves
📌 U.S. stocks saw a roller-coaster week. After sharp declines earlier (notably on Jan 20 amid tariff concerns), markets rebounded mid-week following political shifts on trade policy. Major indexes closed higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all moving up, though the weekly performance remained slightly mixed — the S&P and Nasdaq ended modestly lower while the Dow and small caps were up.
💡 Small caps outperformed large tech this week, continuing a trend of investors rotating into more economically sensitive names — a sign of confidence in broader economic growth outside megacap names.
💥 Geopolitics & Volatility
⛈️ Earlier in the week, global markets weakened after tariff threats against European nations sparked sell-offs in European stocks — pushing investors toward safe assets.
Bonds & Dollar
The U.S. dollar weakened this week, which typically supports commodities and precious metals. Bonds were relatively stable amid mixed data and investor risk shifts.
💎 Gold & Precious Metals: Rally to Record Highs
🔥 Gold surged this week to near record levels — trading close to $4,950/oz, reflecting strong safe-haven demand as geopolitical and policy risks intensified.
🔮 Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs raised its 2026 gold price forecast to around $5,400/oz, citing heavy demand from central banks and private investors — reinforcing gold’s strong bullish narrative.
📊 Data also shows that gold prices are up sharply year-to-date and up nearly 80% compared to last year, with forecasts expecting continued strength.
📈 Silver and other precious metals like platinum also hit multi-year highs this week, boosting commodity market interest.
Crypto Markets: Momentum Builds
📌 After legislative news in the U.S., crypto markets showed renewed momentum, especially around expectations for clearer regulatory frameworks — a potential tailwind for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
🧠 Key Drivers Behind This Week’s Moves
📌 Geopolitical Risk
- Trade and tariff negotiations caused early volatility.
- Safe haven flows boosted gold and precious metals significantly.
📌 Market Rotation
- Investors rotated from large tech into small-cap stocks and other sectors.
- This broadening participation is a notable shift from prior years.
📌 Monetary & Policy Outlook
- Rate cut expectations, central bank asset purchases, and dollar weakness all supported gold and other commodities.
📉 Summary in Simple Terms
- Stocks: Mixed week — gains midweek erased some early losses, with small caps outperforming.
- Gold: Big winner of the week, hitting record levels and drawing strong forecasts.
- Bonds/Dollar: Supportive backdrop for commodities.
- Crypto: Positive signals from U.S. regulatory news.
🔍 What to Watch Next Week
👉 Gold’s key technical and macro drivers — could it surpass $5,000?
👉 Corporate earnings and economic data for rotation trends.
👉 Fed commentary for interest rate signals impacting both stocks and rates.