TradFi News |TradFi Week in Review: Silver Drops 18% in October, Intel Has Its Worst Day Since 1974, and a 10-2 Fed Hold Keeps a December Hike in Play

What happened

Global markets fell sharply in the week to Friday, October 30. Gold dropped 6.7% for October to $3,876.89 an ounce, and silver fell more than 18% to $49.13. Intel plunged 28.58% on Friday, its worst day since 1974, while the Fed voted 10-2 to hold rates.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

Falling metals prices and a tech selloff can reduce the value of investors' holdings in those areas. The Fed's split vote keeps the possibility of higher borrowing costs alive, which matters for companies that rely on borrowed money and for stock valuations.

Analyst inference

Strong US growth and inflation data kept expectations of high interest rates in place, which weighed on gold and silver because higher real rates, meaning inflation-adjusted returns, make metals less appealing. Worries about AI spending also cooled enthusiasm for tech stocks.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. The Fed voted 10-2 to keep rates unchanged, with two officials favoring a 25 basis point hike, which means a quarter-percentage-point increase in the benchmark interest rate. Confirmed
2. Watch whether strong US growth and inflation data continue, since that could keep expectations of higher rates in place and pressure non-yielding assets like gold and silver. Analyst inference
3. Watch technology companies' capital spending, meaning money spent on long-term assets like data centers, because Alphabet fell on concerns about this and Intel plunged sharply. Analyst inference

Evidence

• binance.com