Gold Falls Despite Rising Geopolitical Tensions as Rate-Hike Fears Dominate

Gold prices declined today, extending recent losses even as tensions in the Middle East intensified and oil prices surged. Spot gold fell nearly 1%, dropping to its lowest level in more than two months as investors focused on the growing likelihood of higher U.S. interest rates rather than traditional safe-haven demand.

The main driver behind gold's weakness was Friday's stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report, which reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve may need to keep monetary policy tighter for longer. Markets are now pricing in a significantly higher probability of another Fed rate increase later this year.

Gold has now fallen more than 9% over the past month and remains well below the record highs reached earlier this year. While short-term sentiment has weakened, on the longer-term outlook, continued central-bank purchases, reserve diversification away from the U.S. dollar, and persistent geopolitical uncertainty are supportive factors.

Investors will now turn their attention to upcoming U.S. inflation data on Wednesday, which could determine whether gold stabilizes or faces further pressure from rising interest-rate expectations.

Brent Crude Jumps 4% as Middle East Tensions Reignite Supply Fears

Brent crude oil rose roughly 4% today, approaching the $97-$98 per barrel range, as investors reacted to renewed military escalation between Israel and Iran and growing concerns about oil supplies moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest rally follows fresh Israeli strikes on Iranian targets and retaliatory missile attacks from Iran, raising fears that the conflict could further disrupt energy exports from the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz remains the market's primary concern because roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG shipments normally pass through the waterway.

Oil traders are also becoming increasingly concerned about declining global inventories. Crude stockpiles have been falling while tanker traffic through the region remains well below normal levels, leaving the market vulnerable to additional supply shocks if geopolitical tensions worsen.

The sharp rise in crude prices could have broader implications for financial markets. Higher energy costs may add inflationary pressure globally, potentially complicating central bank efforts to lower interest rates later this year.

For now, the direction of oil prices will largely depend on whether diplomatic efforts can reduce tensions in the Middle East or whether the conflict continues to threaten one of the world's most important energy transit routes.

Bitcoin Slides as Risk Appetite Weakens Following Tech Selloff and Rising Market Uncertainty

Bitcoin fell nearly 4% today, dropping to around $64,300 and extending a volatile week for the cryptocurrency market. The decline comes as investors reduce exposure to risk assets amid a broad selloff in technology stocks, concerns about global growth, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

One of the biggest catalysts behind today's weakness was the sharp post-earnings decline in Broadcom. Shares of the AI chip giant plunged more than 13% after investors reacted negatively to its outlook despite another strong quarter. The selloff spread across the semiconductor sector, dragging down Nvidia, AMD, Marvell and other technology names that have been at the center of the artificial intelligence investment boom. As enthusiasm surrounding AI stocks cools, speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies are also coming under pressure.

Bitcoin has increasingly traded like a high-beta technology asset during periods of market stress. When investors become more cautious and move away from growth stocks, cryptocurrencies often experience even larger swings. Today's decline reflects that dynamic as capital rotates toward safer assets such as gold, which gained more than 1% during the session.

The macroeconomic backdrop has also become more challenging. U.S. Initial Jobless Claims rose to 225,000, above expectations, adding to concerns that economic momentum may be slowing. Additional pressure has come from continued outflows from crypto investment products and concerns about large-holder selling activity.

Despite today's weakness, some analysts remain constructive on Bitcoin's longer-term outlook. Institutional adoption, expanding crypto infrastructure and a potentially more favorable regulatory environment could support prices over time. However, in the near term, Bitcoin appears highly sensitive to movements in technology stocks, interest-rate expectations and overall investor risk appetite. As long as uncertainty remains elevated, volatility is likely to remain a defining feature of the cryptocurrency market.

Gold Climbs as Investors Seek Safety While Oil Pulls Back on Hopes of Easing Supply Risks

Gold prices surged more than 1% on Thursday, climbing above $4,525 per ounce, while Brent crude oil fell over 3% to around $94.7 per barrel. The contrasting moves reflect a shift in investor sentiment as markets continue to digest developments in the Middle East, Federal Reserve expectations, and signs of a gradually cooling U.S. labor market.

The rally in gold was fueled by growing demand for safe-haven assets. Investors remain concerned about geopolitical tensions involving the United States and Iran, particularly after weeks of uncertainty surrounding shipping routes and energy supplies in the Middle East. Although fears of a major disruption have not disappeared, many market participants are seeking protection against potential volatility, supporting demand for precious metals.

Additional support came from today's U.S. labor market data. Initial Jobless Claims rose to 225,000, above expectations of 214,000 and the previous reading of 212,000. While the labor market remains relatively healthy, the data suggests economic conditions may be softening modestly. That has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could eventually resume monetary easing if inflation continues to moderate. Lower interest rate expectations generally benefit gold because the metal does not pay interest and becomes more attractive when bond yields decline.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil moved sharply lower after recent gains pushed prices close to the $100-per-barrel level. The decline appears driven largely by a reduction in immediate supply fears. While tensions in the Middle East remain elevated, investors increasingly believe that a worst-case disruption to global oil flows may be avoided. As a result, some of the geopolitical risk premium that had been built into crude prices is beginning to unwind.

The drop in oil prices also provided some relief to broader financial markets. Lower energy prices reduce concerns that a new inflation wave could emerge, potentially easing pressure on central banks. However, crude remains at historically elevated levels, meaning energy markets continue to represent a significant inflation risk if geopolitical conditions deteriorate again.

Taken together, today's price action suggests investors are becoming more cautious. Rather than aggressively betting on stronger economic growth, markets are favoring defensive positioning. Gold's rise indicates ongoing demand for safety, while oil's decline reflects optimism that energy supply disruptions may not become as severe as previously feared. The combination points to a market that remains highly sensitive to both geopolitical headlines and incoming economic data.

US Markets Diverge as Dow Surges While Tech Stocks Retreat Following Broadcom Selloff

U.S. stocks are trading with a sharply divided tone today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1.5% to 51,466, while the S&P 500 is slightly negative and the Nasdaq has fallen nearly 0.9%. The primary driver behind the weakness in technology shares is the post-earnings selloff in Broadcom, one of the market's most important AI infrastructure companies.

Broadcom (AVGO) reported another strong quarter, with revenue rising 48% year-over-year to $22.2 billion and AI semiconductor revenue surging 143% to $10.8 billion. The company also guided for approximately $16 billion in AI chip revenue next quarter. Under normal circumstances, these figures would be considered exceptional. However, investors had priced in even more aggressive growth expectations following the stock's massive rally over the past year.

As a result, Broadcom shares plunged roughly 14-15% after earnings despite beating many financial expectations. Investors focused on management's decision not to raise its long-term AI revenue target and on AI revenue guidance that came in slightly below the market's most optimistic forecasts. The reaction highlights how demanding expectations have become for AI-related stocks.

The Broadcom decline has weighed on the broader semiconductor sector, triggering profit-taking in other AI and chip names including Nvidia, AMD, Marvell and Micron. Since semiconductors carry significant weight within the Nasdaq and major technology indexes, weakness in the group is dragging the broader technology sector lower.

At the same time, today's labor market data offered a mixed signal. Initial Jobless Claims rose to 225,000 from 212,000 previously and exceeded expectations of 214,000, suggesting some moderation in hiring conditions. However, Continuing Claims declined slightly to 1.777 million, indicating that the labor market remains relatively resilient. The data supports the view that economic growth is slowing gradually rather than deteriorating sharply.

Meanwhile, investors continue to monitor Middle East developments and energy markets. Elevated oil prices remain a concern because sustained strength in crude could keep inflation pressures alive and complicate the Federal Reserve's path toward additional rate cuts. These concerns have encouraged some investors to rotate away from high-valuation growth stocks and toward industrial, financial and defensive sectors, helping the Dow significantly outperform the Nasdaq.

Today's market action does not necessarily signal a broader loss of confidence in the AI theme. Instead, it reflects how difficult it has become for mega-cap technology and semiconductor companies to exceed already lofty expectations. Broadcom's results demonstrated powerful AI demand, but the market's reaction suggests investors are becoming increasingly selective and demanding stronger evidence that the extraordinary AI spending boom can continue accelerating from current levels.

US labor data is mildly mixed but leans slightly negative.

Initial jobless claims rose to 225K, above the 214K forecast and previous 212K. This suggests layoffs picked up more than expected, though the level is still not alarming historically.

Continuing claims came in at 1.777M, slightly below the 1.780M forecast and down from 1.785M.

Broadcom Rises 3.5% as Alphabet's $80 Billion AI Push and Earnings Optimism Fuel Rally

Shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) gained 3.5% on Tuesday as investors positioned ahead of the company's earnings report and reacted positively to Alphabet's announcement that it plans to raise $80 billion to accelerate its artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout. According to MarketWatch, Broadcom was among the biggest beneficiaries of the news because of its deep involvement in designing Google's custom AI processors and networking hardware.

Alphabet's massive AI investment plan reinforced expectations that demand for Broadcom's custom AI accelerators, networking chips, and data-center infrastructure products will remain exceptionally strong for years. Broadcom is a key partner in Google's Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) program and is also benefiting from growing demand for custom AI chips across hyperscale customers.

Investor sentiment was further boosted ahead of Broadcom's earnings release scheduled for Wednesday. Analysts expect fiscal second-quarter revenue of approximately $22 billion and AI semiconductor revenue of about $10.7 billion, reflecting continued triple-digit growth in the company's AI business. Broadcom's AI revenue more than doubled in its most recent quarter, and management has previously stated it sees a path to more than $100 billion of annual AI-related chip revenue by 2027.

The stock also benefited from broader enthusiasm surrounding AI infrastructure companies following strong moves in Marvell Technology and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Investors increasingly view Broadcom as one of the most important suppliers enabling the next phase of AI data-center expansion through both custom silicon and high-speed networking solutions.

With Broadcom already valued at more than $2 trillion, tomorrow's earnings report is expected to be closely watched for updates on AI demand, major customer spending plans, and management's outlook for the remainder of 2026.

Praxis Precision Medicines Falls 16% After Epilepsy Trial Misses Primary Endpoint

Shares of Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ: PRAX) fell 16% after the company reported that its Phase 2/3 POWER1 study of vormatrigine in patients with focal onset seizures failed to meet its primary efficacy endpoint.

The study evaluated vormatrigine in highly refractory epilepsy patients and measured the percent change in monthly seizure frequency. While the trial did not achieve its primary success measure, the company reported that a key secondary endpoint, the 50% responder rate, was met. Praxis also noted that seizure reduction became more pronounced during the second half of the study when patients received the higher 30 mg dose.

Investors focused primarily on the primary endpoint miss, which raises questions about the regulatory and commercial path forward for the program. In response, Praxis announced it is pausing enrollment in the ongoing POWER2 study while it reassesses the data and evaluates potential modifications to the development strategy.

Despite the disappointing efficacy outcome, management highlighted several encouraging findings. Vormatrigine was generally well tolerated, with adverse event-related discontinuations below 10%, and approximately 90% of patients receiving the drug transitioned into the open-label extension study and remain enrolled.

CEO Marcio Souza said the company was encouraged by the efficacy signal observed at the higher dose level as well as the drug's favorable safety profile. He added that Praxis remains focused on advancing its broader pipeline, including planned launches for relutrigine and ulixacaltamide.

The stock's decline reflects investor disappointment that vormatrigine failed to clear its primary hurdle, overshadowing the positive secondary endpoint results and favorable tolerability profile.

Celcuity Falls 23% Despite Strong Phase 3 Breast Cancer Data as Investors Lock In Gains

Shares of Celcuity (NASDAQ: CELC) fell 23% despite reporting highly positive Phase 3 results for gedatolisib in advanced breast cancer and receiving significant attention at the ASCO annual meeting.

The company announced detailed results from the Phase 3 VIKTORIA-1 trial in patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutated advanced breast cancer. Gedatolisib combined with fulvestrant and palbociclib reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 50% compared with alpelisib plus fulvestrant, while median progression-free survival nearly doubled to 11.1 months from 5.6 months. The treatment also achieved an objective response rate of 48.9% versus 26.0% for the comparator regimen.

The gedatolisib doublet also delivered strong results, reducing the risk of progression or death by 49% and extending median progression-free survival to 11.3 months. According to the company, the trial marked the first Phase 3 study to demonstrate superiority of one PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitor over another in this patient population.

Safety results were also encouraging. Treatment discontinuation rates due to adverse events were lower for both gedatolisib regimens than for the alpelisib-based control arm, while rates of hyperglycemia and rash compared favorably to the comparator treatment.

Despite the strong clinical data, shares declined sharply following the announcement. Several biotechnology analysts noted that expectations had risen significantly ahead of the ASCO presentation and that investors were looking for clearer overall survival data, which remains immature. Market participants also focused on the company's upcoming FDA decision, with a PDUFA date of July 17, 2026, for gedatolisib in a related breast cancer indication.

Nevertheless, the results strengthened the case for gedatolisib as a potential new standard of care in advanced breast cancer and support Celcuity's plans for commercialization if regulatory approvals are obtained.

Abivax Plunges 43% Despite Strong Phase 3 Success as Cancer Concerns Rattle Investors

Shares of Abivax (NASDAQ: ABVX) plunged 43% despite reporting highly successful Phase 3 results for obefazimod in ulcerative colitis, as investors focused on several cancer cases reported in the higher-dose treatment group.

The Phase 3 ABTECT maintenance trial delivered impressive efficacy results. Both the 25 mg and 50 mg doses met the primary endpoint, with clinical remission rates of 50.8% and 51.3%, respectively, compared with 10.4% for placebo. The drug also met all key secondary endpoints, including endoscopic remission and sustained clinical remission.

However, investors appeared concerned about malignancies reported in the 50 mg treatment arm. These included individual cases of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colonic dysplasia, along with several non-melanoma skin cancer cases. Abivax noted that investigators did not consider the cancers treatment-related, and no clustering around a specific cancer type was observed (Quartz).

The concerns prompted Jefferies to downgrade the stock to Hold from Buy and reduce its price target, citing uncertainty surrounding the cancer findings. At the same time, several analysts defended the results, arguing that the strong efficacy profile and lack of evidence linking the cancers to the drug suggest the issue may ultimately represent a labeling consideration rather than a major safety problem (Quartz).

Despite the selloff, Abivax remains on track to submit a New Drug Application to the FDA in late 2026. Management highlighted the drug's favorable overall safety profile and believes obefazimod has the potential to become an important new treatment option for ulcerative colitis.

The sharp decline reflects how sensitive biotech investors can be to potential safety concerns, even when clinical efficacy results significantly exceed expectations. Full trial data are expected later this year and will likely play a key role in determining the market's longer-term view of obefazimod.