Summary
Alphabet’s earnings miss hit technology shares, while strong GDP and elevated PCE inflation kept a December Fed hike in play.
Copper retreated towards $14,350/t despite tight Chinese supply, while zinc held near $3,875/t.
Gold fell towards $4,020/oz and silver dropped below $52.50/oz as the restrictive rates backdrop weighed on bullion.
Macro
US equities moved lower, led by technology shares after Alphabet’s earnings miss revived concerns over returns on AI investment. The company’s shares fell around 10%, with weaker search-ad growth and negative free cash flow overshadowing strong cloud performance. Microsoft moved higher after revenue reached $92.3bn and Azure grew 48%, reinforcing the market’s focus on whether AI spending is producing visible returns. Amazon reports after the close, placing AWS growth, capital expenditure and free cash flow at the centre of attention.
US Q3 GDP grew by 3.4% annualised, above the 3.2% consensus and up from 2.2% in Q2. September PCE inflation rose by 0.5% MoM and 3.6% YoY, while core inflation reached 3.1% YoY. The combination of firm growth and elevated inflation supports the Fed’s decision to retain a tightening bias, with another increase in December still firmly in play. DXY initially approached 102.4 before returning towards 102.0, while the US 10-year yield slipped below 5.0%.
We expect technology shares to remain sensitive to earnings quality and evidence of AI returns. Strong GDP and elevated PCE inflation should keep the dollar supported, even as weaker equities hold the 10-year yield below its recent highs.
Base Metals
Base metals diverged. Copper fell from above $14,450/t to around $14,350/t, reversing part of this week’s advance. The move followed renewed caution towards the AI data-centre demand narrative after Alphabet’s results, while US copper inventories remained heavily concentrated after tariff-related stockpiling.
Physical conditions outside the US remain tight. The Yangshan copper premium reached $205/t, reflecting limited immediately available metal in China, while SHFE inventories have fallen sharply. This contrasts with approximately 800,000 short tons of COMEX copper stocks in the US and supports the view that copper availability is fragmented geographically. The main risk is that the US does not proceed with refined-copper tariffs, which would weaken the incentive to keep attracting metal into American warehouses.
Zinc remained the strongest metal, briefly reaching $3,900/t before closing near $3,875/t as tight nearby availability continued to support prices. Aluminium recovered from an early test below $3,050/t to $3,076.50/t, while lead regained $1,915/t. Nickel remained weak near $15,530/t, and tin extended its decline below $50,000/t to $49,615/t. Copper’s pullback and zinc’s resilience show that nearby supply conditions continue to matter more than a common macro direction across the complex.
Precious Metals
Gold fell below $4,020/oz after failing to hold an earlier recovery above $4,060/oz. Strong GDP, elevated PCE inflation and continued expectations of another Fed increase
outweighed the support from the decline in Treasury yields. Selling becoming more persistent through the US session, leaving the market close to the lower end of today’s range.
Silver underperformed again, falling almost 3% to around $52.5/oz after briefly trading close to $52.00/oz. The metal failed to hold $54.00/oz in early trading and remained under pressure throughout the session, reflecting its greater sensitivity to weaker technology and industrial sentiment.
Gold’s ability to remain above $4,000/oz continues to separate it from the deeper correction in silver. However, today’s US data leave both metals exposed to a restrictive rates environment, with silver showing the clearer loss of momentum.
All price data is from 29.10.2026 as of 17:30