Tech Selloff Weighs on US Stocks as Silver Plunges
US stocks finished the day lower as traders pared bets on tech megacaps before the end of the year. Volatility hit precious metals as silver retreated after touching a record high.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, with shares of Tesla Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Meta Platforms among the Big Tech decliners. The Nasdaq 100 slid 0.5%. In US government bonds, the yield on 10-year Treasuries slipped to 4.11%.
The weakness in equities “is a reversal from last week when tech stocks led on the way up,” said Joe Mazzola, head trading & derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab. However, it “doesn’t appear connected to any single fundamental factor.”
The S&P 500 is up some 17% year-to-date, defying expectations for a tariff-fueled selloff even as it underperformed many global peers.
An optimistic consensus is taking hold that the rally in stocks will continue rallying in 2026 after three straight years of gains. Despite a raft of risks spanning a potential bust in the artificial-intelligence advance to unanticipated policy shocks, sell-side strategists are forecasting another 9% average gain in the S&P 500 next year.
“As attention shifts to the year ahead, the outlook for U.S. economic growth appears bright,” wrote Jason Pride, chief of investment strategy and research and Michael Reynolds, vice president of investment strategy at Glenmede. “The combined effects of tariff policy, fiscal stimulus, shifts in the labor market, AI-related productivity, and the potential for deregulation point to above trend prospects in 2026.”
Silver Selloff
Silver, meanwhile, tumbled more than 8% after smashing through $80 an ounce in a rally powered by speculative trades and fears of a supply shortage. Gold was down more than 4%.
Precious metals have emerged as a hot corner of financial markets in recent months, boosted by elevated central-bank purchases and inflows to exchange-traded funds. Lower borrowing costs are also acting as a tailwind for non-yielding commodities, while frictions between the US and Venezuela have added to precious metals’ safe-haven appeal.
The initial momentum for metals on Monday came after a weekend comment by Elon Musk highlighted the growing bullishness around them. Musk replied to a tweet on Chinese export restrictions by saying on X: “This is not good. Silver is needed in many industrial processes.”
Precious metals “had become quite overbought on a short-term basis, so the fact that they’re seeing some outsized declines this morning is not the end of the world at all,” according to Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “We believe that any weakness in these names over the next week or two should create another good buying opportunity.”
Source : Bloomberg.com
