Global markets were hit by a sudden and violent sell-off, with more than $6.5 trillion erased across metals, equities, and cryptocurrencies in just 24 hours, triggering one of the most chaotic trading sessions in recent years.
Precious metals led to the collapse. Gold plunged nearly 11%, wiping out about $4.1 trillion in value, while silver crashed more than 21%, erasing $1.4 trillion. Other industrial and precious metals were also hit hard, with copper, palladium, and platinum suffering double-digit losses as prices fell sharply within hours.
U.S. stock markets did not escape the turmoil. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all turned lower, collectively losing hundreds of billions of dollars in market value. Technology stocks were under particular pressure after Microsoft shares sank around 11% in a single day, dragging major indices lower and shaking investor confidence.
Crypto markets followed the broader risk-off move. Bitcoin fell about 6–7%, erasing more than $100 billion, while Ethereum dropped over 7%, as forced liquidations hit leveraged traders. Analysts noted that once prices started falling, automatic sell orders and margin calls accelerated the decline.
Experts say the crash was not driven by one clear headline or policy shock. Instead, several factors came together at once: excessive leverage, heavy profit-taking after a massive multi-year rally in metals, weakness in large tech stocks, and extreme overbought conditions that left markets vulnerable. When prices began to slip, the selling quickly snowballed into a broad deleveraging event.
In short, this was a classic unwind. After months of strong gains and crowded trades across assets, one small trigger was enough to break the momentum, sending prices sharply lower across almost everything at the same time.
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