Gold jumped sharply and set its sights on the $4,500-per-ounce resistance level after an unexpectedly weak US nonfarm payrolls and ahead of inflation data, which once again altered expectations for Fed rates.
Oil is rising amid a steep drop in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the breakdown of talks between Iran and Oman, sending Brent toward $90 a barrel.
Intel announced a $15 billion share offering to fund AI growth and strengthen semiconductor production. At the same time, Nvidia is developing an open family of models called Nemotron 4 — reflecting a competitive and strategic reshaping of the AI industry.
These stories show how a mix of macro shocks, geopolitical risks, and technological shifts is reallocating capital and risk across markets.
Gold spiked after an unexpectedly weak US jobs report for July, pushing prices to a several-week high. It was a sharp turnaround for the precious metals, which posted their worst quarterly losses since 2013 in Q2 2026.
On August 7, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July; economists had expected an increase of 80,000. The prior two months were even worse — combined job losses over that period totaled 103,000.
Those figures quickly shifted expectations for interest rates. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of a September rate hike plunged below 50%.
On Monday, spot gold traded around $4,322–$4,377 per ounce after hitting a multi-week high on Friday. Silver also rallied back above $65 and was trading near $66.70 on Tuesday morning.
The trading instruments discussed in this review are available on the InstaSpot platform. To trade them, open an account with InstaSpot and download the company's mobile app.
Transit through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply. Hopes for a diplomatic settlement between the US and Iran have faded, and the market is increasingly worried about prolonged supply disruptions.
Shipping analytics firm Kpler reports that 15 cargo vessels transited the strait on Friday, 11 on Saturday, 6 on Sunday, and 7 on Monday. That is well below the roughly 12-ship average over the past 10 days and tiny compared with the roughly 98 cargo vessels that passed daily through the strait before the Middle East conflict began.
The decline followed the collapse of hopes for an Iran?Oman agreement to restore shipping. About one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG shipments pass through Hormuz.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that talks with Oman are not complete. Tehran said a full reopening of the strait is possible only if US sanctions are lifted, military threats are removed, and compensation is paid for war damage. Iran also rejected direct talks with Washington, citing alleged violations of a temporary agreement reached in June.
Oil reacted quickly. Brent futures rose $4.17, or 4.99%, to $87.72 per barrel on Monday — the largest one-day percentage jump since July 29. On Tuesday, the rally continued, and Brent climbed toward $90 a barrel. New supply concerns compounded the threat of a strait closure.
On Monday, President Donald Trump did not detail next steps in negotiations with Iran, leaving the possibility of military escalation on the table if talks fail. Asked what would happen next, he said, "You'll see."
Earlier, he had called the talks the "last chance" for Iran. On his Truth Social platform, Trump demanded Iran pay compensation for "all the people they've killed" over the past 50 years.
Bloomberg reports Trump has moved away from rhetoric of an imminent peaceful deal toward a more "restrained" stance, hoping that economic pressure from a US naval blockade will force Tehran to give ground.
Intel announced a public underwritten offering of common stock for $15 billion — the largest equity raise for the company in years. Intel says it wants to capitalize on demand for AI infrastructure.
In a press release via Business Wire, the company said proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures and working capital. Intel cited "sustained and sizable demand" from customers driven by "unprecedented investments in compute for AI."
Underwriters include J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Intel has granted them a 30-day option to buy additional shares worth up to $2.25 billion at the offering price less any discounts. If exercised, total proceeds could reach $17.25 billion.
The company said, "Advances in areas such as physical AI, specialized silicon solutions, advanced
Intel says the offering will help it seize those opportunities while preserving a strong balance sheet and commitment to its investment-grade credit ratings.
Intel filed a Form S-3 shelf registration with the SEC. According to the shelf documents, as of June 27, 2026, there were about 5,043 million common shares outstanding out of 10 billion authorized. The new issue will dilute existing shareholders, who do not have preemptive rights to maintain their ownership percentage.
The company stresses it is "maintaining discipline in capital raising, aligning investments with customer demand and clear return expectations."
The offering comes as Intel seeks to secure key positions in AI chip development and in producing advanced semiconductors for external customers. Bloomberg says Intel is "leveraging renewed investor interest in its business prospects amid an AI data-center boom." The equity raise reflects a shift toward equity financing amid large investments in advanced process fabs, including Intel 14A and advanced packaging capabilities.
Nvidia is working on a new open family of AI models called Nemotron 4. The largest version is reported to contain at least 1 trillion parameters.
There is no firm release date; model training is not yet complete. Reuters reported staff hope to finish by late autumn. If successful, Nvidia would join a small number of large US firms releasing open frontier models. With rising AI costs and pressure from cheaper Chinese alternatives, the shape of the industry is changing quickly.
"We are investing in Nemotron because we believe every company and every country needs accessible, advanced open models to strengthen security, accelerate innovation and create a reliable foundation for generations to build on," Kari Briski, vice president for generative AI, said in a written comment.
This move comes as low-cost Chinese models have significantly narrowed the performance gap with leaders like Anthropic and OpenAI. Recent hacks involving autonomous AI agents have also increased interest in open models, which have fewer application restrictions for cybersecurity purposes.
Last month, Nvidia joined an AI safety coalition. Together with Microsoft and others, it signed an open letter defending models with open weights to avoid driving innovation abroad.
Reminder: the trading instruments mentioned in this text are available on InstaSpot; we therefore recommend opening a trading account on that platform and downloading its mobile app.
*The market analysis posted here is meant to increase your awareness, but not to give instructions to make a trade.
InstaSpot analytical reviews will make you fully aware of market trends! Being an InstaSpot client, you are provided with a large number of free services for efficient trading.
