00:00Let's start with the incredible selling then across the Korean market, but not limited to that.
00:04The Japanese market is also down. Weakness in tech stocks in Asia once again.
00:08And what are we learning through these incredible days of volatility then, Ben?
00:15Absolutely. Morning, Anna. I think that the U.S. markets, regardless of what's happening in Asia,
00:20I think that the U.S. markets will soon decouple from the brutal meltdown that we have seen in South
00:25Korea.
00:25In fact, if you look at the WIX index and the WIX one-day index, Anna,
00:30traders are hardly factoring in a major volatility event.
00:33You won't believe it, but the FTSE 100 has actually rallied the most in a month this week,
00:38despite all the wobbles we have had, incredible as it sounds.
00:42Calling it a Korean stock market problem is almost a misnomer,
00:45given that it's mainly about two stocks, Samsung and ASK Hynes.
00:50And the immense leverage story surrounding those single-stock ETFs,
00:54my sense is that Korea's stock market problems will continue to drag out for long,
01:00but U.S. stocks will pull away from those very idiosyncratic issues.
01:04That's not to say that there isn't a frenzy in AL at memes and memory makers,
01:09but investors should be really wary of the intense musical chairs being played here,
01:13with smart money rotating in and out of assets at a frightening pace.
01:17So much so that these are some of the most treacherous markets
01:21that even professional investors have seen in a long, long time.
01:24So this is a market one should be extremely wary of getting into
01:28if you're late to the party, really.
01:32Intense, intense musical chairs.
01:33I like that, Venram.
01:34It certainly feels like that, doesn't it?
01:35And this week has really kind of shone a spotlight on those moves.
01:39Meanwhile, gold is hovering, and it had crossed below this level earlier this week,
01:42below 4,000.
01:43Right now it's just above 4,000 per troy ounce.
01:46What are the dynamics that have been moving gold in recent days?
01:50How are you thinking about the yellow metal?
01:54It's the same intense rotational play that we've been talking about, Tom.
01:58Smart money, basically smart money has fled gold and Bitcoin.
02:02The previous frenzied assets, if you remember and go back to late 2025 and early 2026,
02:09those were frenzied assets, and they were running up like 30%, 40% in no space of time at all.
02:16And that same fast money and surge of faster returns has gone to AI names and memory makers.
02:22It's the same vicious rotational play.
02:24Gold has lumped 30% from its peak that we saw just in January,
02:28and that feels like a long time off now.
02:31Bitcoin has shed half its value.
02:33What that shows is that investors should be wary of chasing convenient narratives
02:37that explain melt-ups when they happen.
02:39Remember the story then?
02:41Oh, the central bank buying gold.
02:43There is immense demand for silver that is going to outstrip supply.
02:48Bitcoin is a store of digital wealth and all that.
02:51But if you look at the big picture, Anna,
02:54and by my calculations, gold is now trading as though the US CPI index was already at 2030 level.
03:00So there is still quite a bit of froth left.
03:03What that means is that gold is going to find some support around here
03:06because we are at crucial to 4,000 levels.
03:09But I think that in the short term, gold is going to be tested,
03:13and it's probably going to head down to 3,800 or even 3,600 levels.
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