The FTSE 100 touched a fresh record high on Thursday, briefly reaching a 52-week high of 10,277.72 points.
However, analysts cautioned that global markets may be entering a “dangerous phase” after gold surged beyond $5,500 an ounce. The scale and speed of the rally have raised eyebrows: gold only broke through $4,000 for the first time in October and was trading below $3,000 as recently as last April.
Silver’s move has been even more dramatic. The metal has rocketed by about 297% over the past year to above $120 an ounce, after being valued below $30 in July, underscoring the intensity of speculative and safe-haven demand sweeping through precious metals markets.
US stocks were mixed in early trading as investors digested major tech earnings that highlighted another surge in artificial intelligence spending, while the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as widely expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.50 points, or 0.1%, to 49,075.38, while the S&P 500 added 9.89 points, or 0.2%, to 6,988.65.
By contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 39.15 points, or 0.2%, to 23,818.30, as concerns about the scale and sustainability of AI-related investment weighed on sentiment in parts of the technology sector.
Microsoft shares tumbled in early trading after the company reported slowing growth in its core cloud computing business, taking the shine off otherwise forecast-beating revenue and profit figures for the latest quarter.
The stock was down around 10% at $433, compared with $481 late on Wednesday, putting it on track for its biggest one-day decline since March 2020, when markets were rocked by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Investors appeared to focus on signs of decelerating momentum in Microsoft’s cloud division, which overshadowed the stronger-than-expected headline results. According to Reuters, the sell-off reflects growing sensitivity around cloud and AI growth expectations across the technology sector.
