Gold, Bitcoin and Oil Rally as Nvidia Earnings and Strait of Hormuz Risks Take Focus

Market Overview

Global markets extended last weeks momentum into Monday.

Precious metals climbed to fresh highs, with COMEX gold rising 2.39% to $4,624.10 per ounce, bringing its weekly gain to approximately 5.6%. Silver advanced 2.12% to $69.47 per ounce, up roughly 6.9% for the week. Notably, precious metals continued to rally even as long-term Treasury yields moved higher. Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio once again publicly advocated reducing exposure to bonds in favor of gold and Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrencies also strengthened sharply. Bitcoin approached the key $80,000 level intraday, surging more than 20% for the week, its strongest weekly performance in three years. Ethereum gained more than 30% over the same period.

Oil prices extended their advance, with WTI crude settling at $87.06 per barrel and Brent crude at $94.39 per barrel. Both benchmarks gained more than 6.5% on the week, as Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, intensifying concerns over global energy supplies.

U.S. equities finished broadly higher on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98% to 53,277, while Tesla gained more than 5%. Nvidia, however, extended its losing streak to six consecutive sessions ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday.

Long-term U.S. Treasury yields moved higher again, with the 10-year Treasury yield climbing to 4.73%, even as the U.S. Treasury expanded its buyback program for longer-dated securities.

On the economic front, the U.S. PMI rose to 56.0 in August, marking its highest level in more than four years.

Key Themes to Watch● Nvidia Earnings and AI Capital Spending

Nvidia is scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday after six consecutive sessions of declines and a 4.6% loss for the week. The report is widely viewed as a key barometer for the broader AI investment narrative.

Investors will be closely watching the growth rate of Nvidia‘s data center revenue, its pricing power amid reports of a 15% increase in prices for high-end servers next year, and management’s outlook for computing demand in the second half of the year.

A meaningful beat or miss could have implications well beyond Nvidia itself, potentially setting the direction for mega-cap technology stocks and broader market risk appetite.

● Geopolitical Risk Premium in the Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices gained more than 6.5% over the week as Iran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz and disrupt oil exports from the Persian Gulf in response to what it described as economic warfare.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the worlds most critical oil transit routes, carrying a significant share of global seaborne crude supplies. Any escalation could quickly translate into higher oil prices and rising inflation expectations.

Combined with the newly effective U.S.-Canada tariff measures, uncertainty surrounding the inflation outlook for the second half of the year is increasing.

Key Events and Developments to Monitor

• Nvidia‘s quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, particularly its guidance on AI-related capital spending and computing demand.

• Iran’s threats involving the Strait of Hormuz and further developments in Middle East geopolitical tensions.

• Long-term U.S. Treasury yields and the effectiveness of the Treasury Department‘s expanded buyback operations.

• Escalation in U.S.-Canada trade tensions, with Canada’s retaliatory tariffs taking effect on September 8.

• Upcoming earnings reports from PDD Holdings, Sinopec, and XPeng.