Markets Mixed as Intel Sinks, Metals and AI Surge

US Equities Mixed After Intel’s AI Setback

US equity indexes were mixed on Friday as Wall Street closed a turbulent week marked by interest‑rate uncertainty, geopolitical noise and a sharp sell‑off in Intel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell roughly 0.7%, the S&P 500 hovered near flat, and the Nasdaq Composite gained about 0.3%, helped by strength in select technology names despite pressure on the broader market.

Intel shares dropped more than 16% after the company issued worse‑than‑expected first‑quarter guidance and flagged manufacturing and supply constraints in its data‑center business. Analysts cited the firm’s delayed response to soaring AI server demand, with wafers for new products started too late in 2025 to ease near‑term shortages. Commentary from research houses suggested investors had hoped the ramp of new process nodes would more quickly support revenue and margins.

The disappointment rippled through sentiment on the day, with some strategists arguing that Intel’s execution challenges complicate efforts to model the profitability of its foundry and AI roadmaps. Separate analysis indicated that meaningful foundry revenue contributions may be unlikely before the late 2020s, reinforcing concerns about the timeline for a full earnings recovery.

Rotation Away From US Stocks and Dollar Weakness

Fund‑flow data showed building caution toward US assets even as headline indexes remain near highs. Bank of America, citing EPFR Global figures for the week ended Jan. 21, reported roughly $17 billion of outflows from US equity funds. The withdrawals followed President Donald Trump’s tariff threats against some European countries over Greenland, which unsettled risk appetite before the rhetoric was later softened.

European equity funds logged their strongest six‑week inflow since June, while Japanese stock funds saw their largest weekly inflows since October. Strategists described the pattern as a rotation toward overseas markets seen as relative havens during the tariff episode. At the same time, the US dollar weakened, reflecting investor unease with unpredictable US policymaking ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

Bank of America’s bull‑and‑bear indicator remained in “extreme bullish” territory for global stocks overall, though it eased slightly after the recent bout of US outflows. US consumer sentiment, however, improved: the University of Michigan’s January survey reached a five‑month high, with gains spread across income, age, education and political groups, suggesting households are feeling more optimistic about finances even as markets recalibrate regional exposure.

Gold Nears $5,000 as Silver Breaks $100

Precious metals extended a powerful rally. Gold futures climbed toward the $5,000 an ounce threshold and were on track for their best week since 2020. Silver futures surged above $100 an ounce for the first time, with spot prices up around 5% on Friday and roughly 40% year‑to‑date after a 147% gain in 2025.

Analysts attributed silver’s move to a mix of speculative momentum, retail buying and ongoing tightness in physical markets, even as some warned of an elevated risk of a correction. One strategist described the advance as a “self‑propelled frenzy,” noting the gold‑to‑silver ratio had compressed to about 50 ounces of silver per ounce of gold, from 105 in April, underscoring silver’s outperformance.

Consultants said high prices have spurred recycling activity, but scrap flows have been constrained by limited refining capacity, slowing inventory rebuilds. Gold’s parallel climb has been linked by some commentators to concerns over US fiscal dynamics and currency debasement, though others, such as Robert Kiyosaki, have emphasized a focus on long‑term hedging rather than day‑to‑day price swings.

AI Chips, China and the Next Leg of the Boom

Elsewhere in technology, Nvidia gained after signs that China may allow major platforms to resume preparations for H200 AI chip purchases. Chinese authorities have told Alibaba and other large internet companies they can begin planning orders for the processors after earlier customs disruptions, according to people familiar with the talks. The guidance suggests Beijing is trying to balance tighter oversight of advanced chip imports with the needs of domestic cloud and AI developers.

The reported shift coincides with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s planned late‑January trip to China and follows moves by Chinese officials to encourage companies to also prioritize domestic accelerators. For Alibaba and peers, renewed access to H200 hardware would support large‑scale training and deployment of AI models, though any conditions attached to pairing imports with local chips could influence investment pacing.

More broadly, AI remained at the center of corporate and macro discussions. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Elon Musk suggested AI systems might surpass individual human intelligence by as early as next year and potentially exceed combined human intelligence later in the decade. He linked this trajectory to rapid growth in humanoid robots and argued that energy generation, rather than chip supply, is emerging as a key constraint, warning that data‑center build‑outs could soon outpace available electricity unless capacity expands.