Gold Extends Past $3k, Nvidia Down After GTC

Many investors favoured gold recently, amidst the political and economic uncertainties, steering clear of prominent tech stocks like Nvidia. As a result, on Wednesday morning, 19 March, gold (XAU/USD) rose to a fresh record high of over $3,000 per oz. Meanwhile, yesterday, on 18 March, Nvidia (NVDA) closed over 3% lower, with some investors seemingly unimpressed by a speech given by CEO Jensen Huang at the GTC developers conference.

Gold & Nvidia Stock Price Performance Chart

While both gold and Nvidia stock have had a strong 12-months, the performance over shorter timeframes, especially over the past month, has diverged significantly. 

*Past performance does not indicate future results 

Gold Hits New Record High Over $3K

The price of gold has continued to make positive strides since closing above the big $3,000 per ounce mark for the first time this week on 18 March. Tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine may have underpinned gold as a safe haven asset while investors are watching the upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision. (Source: Reuters)

Other metals, including silver (XAG/USD) and copper (HG), hit multi-month highs on Tuesday.

Gold’s upward momentum has picked up since Donald Trump took office as US President, with the introduction of new tariffs and general trade uncertainty seemingly adding to its appeal.

Over the past few years, gold has benefitted from central banks accumulating it to diversify reserves away from US dollars and other fiat currencies, with some analysts hailing a new gold ‘supercycle.’

AI-Darling Nvidia Plummets

A combination of broad weakness in mega-cap tech stocks and specific investors' concerns about the sustainability of Nvidia’s AI chip business continued to fuel weakness in Nvidia stock.

At its annual GTC conference on Tuesday, Nvidia introduced new chips designed for developing and deploying AI models. CEO Jensen Huang presented Blackwell Ultra, a family of chips slated for release in the second half of this year, and Vera Rubin, the company’s next-generation GPU, set to launch in 2026.

Despite the announcement, its stock slipped over 3% as investors offloaded technology shares in response to economic uncertainties tied to Trump’s tariffs. The remaining members of the Magnificent Seven also finished the trading session in negative territory.

Some AI observers believed DeepSeek’s ability to operate with fewer chips would undermine Nvidia’s business. However, CEO Jensen Huang explained that DeepSeek’s “reasoning” process actually requires more computing power, a benefit for Nvidia. The newly announced Blackwell Ultra chips are specifically designed to support such reasoning models. (Source: CNBC)

Conclusion

Gold’s record-breaking rise above $3K highlights its role as a safe haven amid global uncertainties and geopolitical tensions. In contrast, Nvidia’s stock slip represents the market’s apprehension toward mega-cap tech. 

Near term, investor sentiment could hinge on the Federal Reserve policy decision, the evolving geopolitical landscape as well and the resilience of the tech sector.

Only time will tell what lies ahead.

*Past performance does not indicate future results