The US economy created just 57,000 jobs in June, far below consensus forecasts, data released on Thursday showed. The report triggered the dollar’s steepest weekly decline since April and propelled spot gold above $4,170 an ounce on Friday, its first weekly gain since late May. Global equities also benefited, with the MSCI All-World index heading for its best week in two months.

The weak payrolls figure prompted traders to slash expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve interest-rate increase, lowering the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Gold, which had been languishing near $4,000, broke back through technical resistance. Yet sentiment remains split: J.P. Morgan sharply cut its 2026 forecast from $6,000 to $4,500, warning that a still-resilient US economy could yet force the Fed to tighten further, while other analysts saw the correction as a chance to buy.

Asian technology stocks rebounded forcefully after a recent rout, with South Korea’s Kospi index vaulting more than 5% as memory-chip makers supplying AI infrastructure recovered. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 hit a fresh record, buoyed by sectors less exposed to AI volatility and cheaper valuations. Felipe Cima, an analyst at Manchester Investimentos, told CNN Brasil that some tech names now trade at multiples well below historical averages, presenting an entry point for investors who missed the earlier rally, though he cautioned that monetisation of generative AI remains “incipient”.

Central bank buying continued to underpin gold: official reserves rose by 41 tonnes in May, World Gold Council data showed. Physical demand in India weakened as prices rose, while Chinese interest ticked up slightly. The next focal point for markets is the Fed’s September meeting, with futures markets pricing a roughly 47% probability of a hold. Any hawkish surprise could reverse gold’s gains, even as many in Asia and Europe view the pullback in tech shares as overdone.