Gold Shines, AI Advances, and Central Banks Steady the Course

The week in the United States was dominated by renewed trade tensions, mixed signals on monetary policy, and growing political uncertainty due to the federal government shutdown. On the economic front, President Donald Trump threatened a "massive increase in tariffs" on Chinese imports in response to Beijing's plans to restrict rare earth exports and suggested he might cancel his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping. The statements reignited fears of a new trade war and caused sharp declines in the markets, with the S&P falling 2.71% on the day. In addition, Trump confirmed that 25% tariffs on imported medium and heavy trucks will take effect on November 1, with the aim of protecting the local industry from "unfair competition." However, doubts remain about the impact on vehicles assembled in Canada and Mexico.

In the corporate arena, AMD shares rose more than 30% after announcing an agreement with OpenAI to deploy 6 gigawatts of GPU and grant a warrant for up to 160 million shares, strengthening its position in the AI sector. In contrast, the automotive sector showed weakness in the face of trade uncertainty. In commodity markets, gold reached an all-time high, surpassing USD 4,060 per ounce, driven by strong purchases by central banks, especially in countries seeking to reduce their exposure to the dollar, such as China and Russia. Analysts noted that the precious metal remains above its 200-day moving average against major currencies, showing broad strength even with a stable dollar and Treasury yields without major variations.

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