The precious metals sell-off that started Friday intensified Monday, with gold falling another 5-8% to around $4,500 after Friday's 9% drop—the steepest single-day decline since 1983. Silver, down 27% Friday in its largest daily plunge on record, fell another 7%, wiping out all 2026 gains.
For enterprise tech leaders, the volatility matters beyond portfolio balance sheets. Copper broke key technical levels as industrial metals slumped on China demand concerns ahead of Lunar New Year (Feb 15). That's relevant for semiconductor manufacturing and EV supply chains, where copper is essential infrastructure.
The broader context: CME margin hikes accelerated the unwind, triggering a rotation from commodities into banks and financials. Tech stocks dipped after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang clarified he hasn't committed a firm $100 billion to OpenAI—a comment that rippled through AI supply chain stocks including ASML.
Mining stocks took the immediate hit: Endeavour Mining down 12%, Atalaya Mining off 21%. Oil slid 5% to $65.79 as US-Iran talks eased geopolitical risk premiums. The Nasdaq and European indices both dropped roughly 1%.
What this means in practice: If copper stays suppressed, server buildouts and data center infrastructure costs could shift. The China slowdown isn't necessarily structural—Lunar New Year always creates noise in industrial demand—but procurement teams should watch if this extends beyond the holiday.
The alternative view: Some analysts see this as a deep correction following October's rally, not a trend reversal. Historic silver levels suggest potential overreaction. FTSE 100 showed resilience, with banks and defense stocks holding up amid the rotation.
Worth noting: Bitcoin fell below $80,000 over the weekend for the first time since April, suggesting broader risk-off sentiment. That pattern—metals down, crypto down, tech under pressure—is the signal. Rate expectations remain elevated, which typically pressures both speculative assets and long-duration tech valuations.
Three things to watch: copper stability, China post-holiday demand data, and whether the tech rotation accelerates if Huang's OpenAI comments reflect broader AI investment caution.