Markets Hold Near Highs as Gold Tops $4,900, Silver Breaks $100, and Tech Earnings Loom

| By Harry Boxer, Technical Market Analyst

Markets Slip Modestly but Remain Near Record Highs

For the second week in a row, the S&P 500,-0.4% and the NASDAQ -just 0.1%,posted fractional declines. The SPX index ended up less than 1% below the record high it set on January 12, while the NASDAQ was about 2% shy of its historic peak set nearly three months ago

The stock market’s relatively modest overall setback for the week didn’t come without drama, as U.S. indexes tumbled around 2% on Tuesday before staging a rebound rally the following day. International tensions over Greenland and the related prospect of tariffs were the key catalysts.

Precious metals were in the spotlight as prices surged again , extending rallies parabolically that have lifted gold and silver well above their previous record levels. Gold was trading around $4,985 per ounce on Friday afternoon, while silver surpassed $100 per ounce for the first time, just a couple of weeks after it first breached the $80 threshold.

Volatility Pulls Back—but Risks Remain Elevated

The VIX (volatility index)has pulled back from near 21 to 15 over the past week ,but I’m not convinced that we are done with volatility. Next week the Fed will be holding a monetary policy meeting and we’re going to get earnings reports from four mega-cap tech companies (MSFT, META, AAPL, TSLA). I don’t expect any surprises from the Fed meeting (although anything can happen), but I think results out of the tech sector will be a primary driver of trader sentiment next week.

Rotation, AI Concerns, and Key Earnings Ahead

Markets have recently been going through a rotation trade away from mega-cap tech in 2026, but software stocks have been under pressure on AI concerns

Then there’s the red-hot group of memory stocks (SNDK, MU, STX, WDC, along with semi equipment manufacturers like ASML, AMAT, KLAC, LRCX), and we’re going to get results from ASML on Wednesday and SanDisk/Western Digital on Thursday. Buckle up because the potential for big moves, one way or the other, following these reports seems likely

Nasdaq Technical Support Holds—for Now

Traders have mostly shied away from tech stocks in 2026 as money has rotated to other areas of the market. However, interest appears to have perked up over the past couple days, and it coincided with a technical support test for the Nasdaq 100 index (NDX). On Tuesday the NDX dropped down to its 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) for the third time over the past three months and fortunately, for the bulls that is, there was another follow-through bounce off this indicator. The test and hold of this support level is bullish as it signals traders willingness to own tech at certain price/valuation levels. Going forward however, the bulls likely don’t want to see a higher frequency of support tests in the near-term, as this could be a harbinger of an eventual break below this indicator.

Key Technical Levels to Watch

Next week I encourage you to closely monitor Support levels near SPX 6790 & 6720. Any move blow those with downside energy could see 6630 & possibly 6520 tested. Key resistance lies near 6985. If through that with a thrust we could extend to 7175-90 or more

In any case as we always do at thetechtrader.com, we’ll “Trade What We See Technically, Not What We Think”