Gold and other metals prices plunged on Friday, as the nomination of Kevin Warsh as US federal reserve chair punctured a blistering rally that has also sent silver, copper and platinum to record highs this week.
The yellow metal, which had soared to nearly $5,600 (€4,720) on Thursday, plummeted as much as 9 per cent on Friday to under $4,900 per troy ounce, continuing a rollercoaster ride that has propelled gold to fresh records as investors seek haven assets amid global turmoil and inflation fears.
The sharp pullback rippled across precious metals on Friday, with silver – which has risen even more sharply than gold this year – dropping 22 per cent and platinum falling 18 per cent.
Dublin
The Irish market ended the week on a positive note, lifted by gains in banking and travel stocks.
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The Euronext Dublin ended Friday at just under 13,148, up 1.4 per cent over the session.
AIB and Bank of Ireland recovered ground throughout the day, with the latter adding 1.9 per cent and AIB shares gaining 3.2 per cent. That capped broadly positive momentum for the financial institutions during the opening month of the year. Permanent TSB was also higher, at 1.3 per cent over the day.
Airline Ryanair rose 1.35 per cent over the session to end the week at €28.61. Shares in the company have lost almost 3 per cent in January, but rallied this week after quarterly results on Monday that predicted a big increase in passenger numbers.
Ferry group Irish Continental rose 0.6 per cent to €6.38. Also in positive territory was Kerry Group, which notched up a 1.8 per cent gain.
Construction stocks were off the pace, with insulation specialist Kingspan marginally lower at €73.50, and home-building companies Glenveagh Properties and Cairn Homes down 0.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.
London
London’s FTSE 100 rose on Friday, capping its seventh straight month of gains. The blue-chip index closed up 0.5 per cent, marking its longest monthly winning streak in more than 12 years.
The domestically focused FTSE 250 was little changed on the day and ended the week lower, but also posted gains for the month.
The banking subindex added 3.5 per cent for the week and 5.3 per cent for the month. It was 1.6 per cent higher on the day, with Lloyds up 3.3 per cent, the strongest performer on the benchmark index.
Credit analytics firm Experian climbed 2.3 per cent, among the top gainers on the FTSE 100, after unveiling a new $1 billion share buyback programme.
Europe
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.7 per cent while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 0.9 per cent higher.
Eurozone economic growth beat expectations at the end of last year while unemployment fell unexpectedly, according to figures published on Friday.
Eurostat said euro zone gross domestic product rose 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025 from the third quarter, above the FXStreet-cited forecast of 0.2 per cent. Growth in the third quarter was also 0.3 per cent.
New York
US stocks fell on Friday after US president Donald Trump nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell to lead the US central bank, a decision that many investors view as hawkish.
At 11.58am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 421.27 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 48,650.29, the S&P 500 lost 39.69 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 6,929.41 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 175.50 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 23,509.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index, which is more sensitive to interest rates, fell 1.6 per cent.
On the day, Tesla rose 4.7 per cent, following reports SpaceX is exploring deals with the electric-vehicle maker and other companies run by Elon Musk.
SanDisk shares jumped 9.7 per cent after better-than-expected third-quarter forecast as AI fuels storage demand. – Additional reporting: PA, Bloomberg, Reuters
