Tech Drags US Stocks as Silver Turns Volatile: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Technology megacaps weighed on US stock futures as traders pared risk at the start of the final week of 2025. Volatility gripped precious metals as silver retreated after hitting a record high.
Contracts on the S&P 500 fell 0.3% while Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.5% lower. Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. retreated more than 1% in premarket trading to lead losses among the Magnificent Seven. Europe’s Stoxx 600 was little changed following talks about a peace deal for Ukraine that yielded no breakthrough.
“The question of ‘is AI a bubble’ will remain front and center for investors in 2026,” wrote Richard Flax, chief investment officer at Moneyfarm. “The scale of current investment and the pace of innovation mean that even the skeptics cannot ignore its influence on both markets and the real economy.”
Silver, meanwhile, gyrated after smashing through $80 an ounce in a rally that’s been powered by speculative trades and fears about a supply shortage. Gold was down more than 1%. Copper surged to within touching distance of $13,000 a ton.
Precious metals have emerged as a hot corner of financial markets in recent months, boosted by elevated central-bank purchases and inflows to exchange-traded funds. Lower borrowing costs are also acting as a tailwind for non-yielding commodities.
The initial momentum for metals on Monday came after a weekend comment by Elon Musk highlighted the growing bullishness around them. Musk replied to a tweet on Chinese export restrictions by saying on X: “This is not good. Silver is needed in many industrial processes.”
Frictions in Venezuela and strikes by Washington on Islamic State targets in Nigeria have also added to the haven appeal of metals. With silver inventories near their lowest on record, there’s a risk of supply shortages that could impact multiple sectors.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“While there was no clear driver for the silver pullback, the low levels of liquidity and silver’s parabolic rise means that it is vulnerable to a snap back. Macro drivers and liquidity remain light, meaning that such erratic price action in the metals space could be a feature of trade for what is left of 2025.”
— Adam Linton, macro strategist. For full analysis, click here.
In geopolitical news, President Donald Trump said he made “a lot of progress” in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy over a possible peace deal, but that it might take a few weeks to get it done.
Oil rose as the US-led talks failed to yield a breakthrough and as China vowed to support economic growth next year. Brent crude is still on track for a fifth monthly drop in December, which would be the longest losing streak in more than two years.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin topped $90,000 before erasing the gain. A gauge of the dollar was steady. US Treasuries strengthened across the curve, with the 10-year yield falling one basis point to 4.12%.
An optimistic consensus is taking hold that the rally in stocks will extend in 2026 after three straight years of gains. Despite a raft of risks spanning a potential bust in the artificial-intelligence advance to unanticipated policy shocks, sell-side strategists are forecasting another 9% average gain in the S&P 500 next year.
“The broader picture is ideal with the US economy growing strongly, inflation under control, high earnings growth and signals that the cycle of interest rate cuts will continue in 2026,” said David Kruk, head of trading at La Financiere de l’Echiquier. “My take at the moment is that 2026 will look a lot like 2025 so I wouldn’t be surprised to see strong buying flows at the beginning of the year.”
Corporate News:
A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. basket of European defense stocks slid as much as 2.8% after the weekend’s talks about a peace deal for Ukraine. Shares in silver miners fell in US premarket trading as the metal retreated sharply after surging past $80 an ounce for the first time. SoftBank Group Corp. is in advanced talks to acquire DigitalBridge Group Inc., a private equity firm that invests in assets such as data centers, according to people with knowledge of the matter. DigitalBridge jumped more than 40% in premarket trading. Airbus SE is churning out aircraft at a rapid clip in the final days of the year, with confidence building at the European planemaker that it can achieve the delivery goal it was forced to cut only a few weeks ago, according to people familiar with the situation. Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 8:26 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.5% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1763 The British pound was little changed at $1.3486 The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 156.35 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $87,245.45 Ether fell 0.2% to $2,929.72 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.12% Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.84% Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.49% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.5% to $58.17 a barrel Spot gold fell 1.8% to $4,453.27 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Julien Ponthus, Subrat Patnaik and Shikhar Balwani.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
