- US Markets
The SPX index slipped 0.8% yesterday, with tech and software companies bearing the brunt of a new AI tool announcement from Anthropic that threatened competitors. It is trading steadily around $6,920 in today’s session.
Anthropic announced that it was adding new legal tools to its Cowork assistant, meant to help automate a number of legal drafting and research tasks. This raised disruption risk for data and research providers and the software services sector. Intel confirmed that it would soon start producing GPUs that will rival Nvidia, dragging the latter’s stock price down. Tech-heavy Nasdaq fell by 1.8%. Equity investors continue to weigh fourth-quarter earnings. AMD reported strong earnings and growth in revenue from the data-centre segment; however, weaker-than-expected guidance for next quarter earnings led to selling pressure. Alphabet is set to announce its earnings today, which will impact the equity indices. A relief comes from the fact that the selling on Tuesday wasn’t particularly widespread—five of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors closed higher. The market breadth is telling a different story, with equal-weight benchmarks holding up better than cap-weighted indices and a rotation toward small caps, cyclicals, and value. On the economic data front, investors would look for a positive reading from the ISM Services PMI to reinforce the U.S. economic growth.
Technically, SPX has support around the $6,860–$6,870 zone, as represented by the 50-day moving average and yesterday’s low. A clear resistance zone appears around $6,990-$7,000. RSI and stochastics are near mid-range levels, indicating mixed momentum signals and weak trend strength is indicated by a low ADX. A decisive broadening in leadership, or megacaps reasserting themselves, would be needed to unlock sustained upside.
- U.S. Dollar Index
The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.23% yesterday and is easing further today, trading near 97.33 (-0.05%). Momentum is faltering as the market reconsiders short-term drivers. The dollar remains above last week’s low of 95.55, but is running into selling pressure again below resistance at 97.75, suggesting a slight near-term downward bias.
Sharp swings in gold and silver highlight growing sensitivity to dollar moves, with the inverse correlation between precious metals and the USD strengthening again. With important U.S. labour data delayed by the partial government shutdown and no major changes in the Fed policy expectations, the Dollar Index is likely to stay lower today. Any declines should be limited, but gains are likely to be capped for now as well.
On the daily chart, the U.S. Dollar Index faces resistance near 97.75, while support is seen around 97. EUR/USD is grinding higher as the dollar eases, with momentum favouring a cautious upside bias. For the euro, resistance is located near the 9-day SMA at 1.188, while support lies around 1.176.
- Crude Oil
Brent gained 0.20%, reaching $67.56, while WTI held steady at $63.47.
Yesterday, oil prices advanced as markets priced in a geopolitical risk premium after the U.S. and Iran engaged in direct military action, when the U.S. shot down an Iranian drone approaching the USS Abraham Lincoln. U.S.–Iran nuclear talks are scheduled for next week, but the likelihood of a breakthrough is low.
President Trump stated that “bad things would happen” if the U.S. fails in negotiations with Iran, in favour of a risk-on bid in oil contracts despite the fundamentals. At the same time, Russian supply remains an anchor around any crude rally, as discounts offered to Indian refiners have hit steep levels near $10–11/bbl under Brent amid tightened U.S. sanctions. India is requesting clarification after agreeing to a U.S. trade deal that will restrict purchases.
On the chart, both Brent and WTI show a strong V-shaped recovery from lows, with current 4H candles stalling just below short-term resistance.
Brent 4H chart shows a strong push from $67, but the small-bodied candles indicate strong resistance near $68. Holding above the $66.50 breakout maintains the bullish structure for a leg up into 68.70, while losing this level will point to lost steam and a potential pullback into $66.50.
The WTI 4H chart is now stalling at $63.47. With resistance near 64.40, while a 4H close below $63.00 would prompt a directional call for corrective pressure into $62.40.
- Gold and Silver
Gold rose for a second day, rebounding above $5,000 an ounce as dip buyers snapped up precious metals following a historic collapse from record highs.
The yellow metal is up 2.6% on Wednesday, after a gain of more than 6% in the previous session, as a risk-on tone returned to markets and the US dollar weakened. Gold is roughly 10% below an all-time high hit on Jan. 29 — but was up around 17% for the year.
Silver is up 5% today, near the $90 level after rising 7.7% on Tuesday.
Forced sales have likely run their course in precious metals. The intense volatility over the last week could certainly keep retail participants on the sidelines, removing an increasingly important cohort of buyers.
Chinese funds and Western retail investors had built up large positions in precious metals, and further fuel was added by investors piling into leveraged exchange-traded products and a wave of call-options buying. A sudden collapse during Asian trading hours on Friday continued into the early part of this week. Mainland China’s four largest gold-backed exchange-traded funds saw combined outflows of nearly $1 billion on Tuesday. This was the biggest ever one-day decline and a sign of how investor confidence has been rattled. Last week, the same ETFs were notching record inflows.
Volatility in precious metals is expected to remain elevated. While inflated prices and market turmoil may affect position sizing, it is not expected to reduce overall investor interest.
From a technical perspective, gold is trying to recapture the 9 SMA on the daily chart and is above the 21 SMA. RSI has bounced to 55, indicating that buying momentum is steadily building. On the 4-hour chart, immediate resistance is at the $5,134 level, which coincides with the 0.618 Fibonacci level, followed by $5,250, which is the 28th Jan 2026 breakout level. Immediate support is $4,912, followed by $4,811 (100 SMA).
Silver is still trading below the 9 and 21 SMA on the daily chart and has an RSI of 42, indicating that buying momentum is slowly recovering as investors are still cautious. On the 4-hour chart, resistance is at $95 and then at $105. A break above this level can solidify bullish momentum on silver. Immediate support is at 2nd Feb 2026 low of $71.2, followed by $64 and then $57.
