Gold rush ends and Big Tech earnings reveal mixed fortunes

After the previous week’s dramatic U-turn on Greenland tariff threats by US president Donald Trump, investors’ attention this week shifted towards gold’s (GC=F) dramatic rally – and subsequent slump.

The precious metal hit a high of $5,500 on Thursday, but by Friday was back down to around $5,100. Still, traders remain poised to see what happens next, with some believing that prices would not just recover, but soar as high as $6,000.

Economy-wise, the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates steady kept Wall Street traders on their toes. The Fed’s move led Central bank officials to upgrade their assessment of the US economy to “solid” from “moderate”.

Read more: Should you invest in gold?

In further Fed news, Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the central bank. Warsh, described as a conventional choice, was formerly the Fed’s governor.

Elsewhere, US officials largely dialled down the rhetoric around tariffs, but Trump continued to issue threats to Iran by demanding that it negotiate a deal over its nuclear programme.

He raised eyebrows after his positive comments about the dollar, which weakened significantly on Thursday, did not align with reality.

The US president also issued a warning for countries doing business with China, which came during UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the country. Trump said that such business ties could be very dangerous, but did not elaborate much further.

Over in Silicon Valley, Big Tech earnings were in full focus, with a mixed picture emerging among the megacaps as they reported results throughout the week.

On Thursday, Microsoft’s (MSFT) shares slumped 11% despite a modest earnings beat, as investors grew impatient for returns on the company’s huge AI spending. Meta (META), on the other hand, surged by more than 7% as it doubled down on plans to spend millions on AI data centres.

Apple’s (AAPL) closely watched first quarter results revealed that the company had beaten estimates on the back of strong iPhone sales. CEO Tim Cook warned shareholders not to get too comfortable, though, as the global memory crunch is set to weigh on the company’s margins.

Elon Musk managed to temporarily divert attention away from the carnage at X, and towards his plans for Tesla (TSLA). Shares at the EV maker rose after it revealed it would stop producing its X and S models, enabling it to ramp up production in its robotics division.

Closer to home, there were highs and lows in the banking sector as Lloyds announced a £1.75bn buyback after beating expectations and Santander revealed plans to close 44 branches.