Gold Surges as Tech Stocks Fall and Treasury Yields Ease in Monday Trading

Here’s the market picture for Monday, August 24, 2026, using the latest intraday readings available. Markets are mixed: gold is notably strong, silver is easing after last week’s run, Treasury yields are lower but still unusually elevated, and technology shares are weighing on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Those equity readings were reported at about 2:02 p.m. Eastern, so they are a useful late-morning Pacific snapshot rather than opening indications.

Gold is the standout today. Spot gold was up about 1.5% near $4,673 an ounce after reaching its highest level in more than three months. Gold has been benefiting from concerns about government debt, the Treasury’s expanded bond-buyback program, recent dollar weakness and uncertainty surrounding Iran. Gold also broke above an important 200-day technical level during last week’s rally, helping attract momentum buyers.

Silver isn’t following gold higher today. Reuters had spot silver around $68.54, down roughly 0.6%, while front-month futures were around $68.70, down about 1.2%. That’s coming after a powerful run: silver futures traded above $70 on Friday before pulling back.

Treasuries are getting some relief today. The 10-year yield was around 4.70%, down roughly four basis points, while the 30-year was around 5.23%, down about five basis points. The 2-year was little changed around 4.23%. Remember that falling yields mean Treasury prices are rising.

The important issue is that long-term yields remain very high. The 30-year yield recently reached its highest level since 2007. The Treasury Department responded by announcing larger purchases of longer-dated government bonds, and investors are now debating whether Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent could use some of the Treasury’s nearly $1 trillion cash balance to support additional buybacks.

Equities are showing a pronounced split. The Dow is slightly positive, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are lower because technology and semiconductor shares are under pressure. Nvidia was down about 2.3%, Micron nearly 5.6% and Broadcom roughly 2.1%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was down about 2.6%. Financial stocks, on the other hand, were up about 1%, helping keep the Dow positive.

Stock-index futures pointed to this weakness before the opening bell. Earlier Monday, S&P 500 futures were down about 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures about 0.6% and Dow futures roughly 0.1%. More recent delayed futures readings continue to show pressure, particularly in technology: Nasdaq 100 futures were down roughly 0.6% and S&P futures around 0.4%.

There are four major forces moving markets today. First is Nvidia’s earnings report Wednesday, which could have an outsized effect on the AI and semiconductor trade. Second is Wednesday’s PCE inflation report. Third is Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech Friday, which investors hope will clarify the interest-rate outlook. Finally, markets are digesting new U.S. economic sanctions against Iran and renewed U.S.-Canada trade tensions.

The broad picture this afternoon is therefore fairly defensive: gold is surging, Treasury prices are recovering somewhat, oil is falling, technology is selling off, and the Dow is holding up much better than the Nasdaq. That combination suggests investors are reducing some higher-risk technology exposure without abandoning equities altogether.

One additional positive is lower energy prices. U.S. crude was down about 2.4% near $85 a barrel and Brent was down about 1.8% around $92.65. Lower oil takes some immediate inflation pressure off the market, although geopolitical risk remains substantial.

If I were turning this into your early market article, the headline theme would be: “Gold Surges as Tech Stocks Fall and Treasury Yields Ease.”

I can also keep an eye on gold, silver, Treasuries and the major indexes and give you another snapshot around the closing bell.