Friday's 2.86% Nasdaq plunge and an 8.24% semiconductor-ETF drop extended a two-week AI-driven selloff that's now reaching corporate credit assessments—S&P Global cut Meta's outlook to negative. With Gold, Silver and Bitcoin all falling alongside tech even as Treasury yields drop, Nasdaq's 25,036.33, S&P 500's 7,507.77 and the 10-year yield's 4.815% are the critical tests for whether this becomes a broader correction.
Dollar weakened against all seven major currencies on Friday as markets scaled back expectations for Fed tightening beyond the anticipated December rate increase. Dollar Index fell from around 102.30 on Thursday afternoon to 101.69 by Friday’s European session, a decline of approximately 0.6%.
Gold and Silver kept falling Friday even as US Treasury yields and the Dollar both declined—a break from the usual macro playbook. With tech stocks pressured by AI-spending concerns and crypto unsettled by the Binance breach, position-cutting across volatile assets is a plausible explanation, though not yet a confirmed one. Gold's 3,942.71 and Silver's $50 level are the next tests.
Two unrelated shocks converged on speculative assets: disappointing AI capex returns sent Alphabet down 12.64% and dragged Nasdaq, Nikkei and Asian semiconductors lower, while a ~$6.3B Binance security breach pushed Bitcoin toward $77,000. A falling Treasury yield hints at mild spillover, but broader equity performance stops short of confirming a generalized risk-off move—Nasdaq's 25,802.96, Nikkei's 61,462.61 and Bitcoin's $75,000–$76,000 zone are the levels that will decide if it deepens.