Gold posted its biggest weekly gain since the 2008 financial crisis, surging almost 8.5% to a new record of $4,378 an ounce. The massive rally was driven by a flight to safety as investors were spooked by signs of stress in the US banking system.
The market jitters were triggered by announcements from two regional lenders, Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance, which revealed multi-million dollar bad loans. This caused their stocks to plunge and sparked fears of a wider credit problem.
The anxiety spread globally, hitting stock markets from Asia to Europe. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell over 1.5%. In Europe, the FTSE 100 and Germany’s Dax also dropped, with bank shares like Barclays and Deutsche Bank leading the decline.
The episode drew parallels to the SVB collapse of 2023, with analysts warning of “storm clouds gathering.” The VIX “fear index” surged by over 22%, reflecting the sharp rise in market uncertainty.