February 02, 2026

Stocks, Gold and Oil Plunge in Market Rout

THE TELEGRAPH: Stocks, gold and oil have plunged in a global market rout driven by fears about AI spending and the outlook for interest rates.

Asian markets were pummelled and Wall Street was expected to open lower as a sell-off in precious metals fuelled a downturn across the world.

Gold was down as much as 7pc to nearly $4,400 an ounce, less than a week after hitting a record high close to $5,600. Silver plummeted by as much as 14pc to less than $72, having tipped above $120 for the first time last week. Oil was also down around 5pc to less than $66 a barrel.

Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said: “Traders are unnerved by the market tumult witnessed on Friday in precious metals.”

Gold and silver sold off sharply at the end of last week as a string of concerns swept the market, from Donald Trump’s trade war to the latest batch of tech earnings.

There were also questions over the outlook for US interest rates after President Trump nominated a Kevin Warsh to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. » | Chris Price | Monday, February 2, 2026