A thoughtful set of questions. January rarely tells a simple story this year.

1. Is the Gold and Silver selloff a “Golden Pit”?

Possibly, but selectively and with discipline. The drawdown had all the hallmarks of forced liquidation rather than a fundamental breakdown. Structural drivers for gold remain intact, including central bank demand, geopolitical hedging and longer-term policy uncertainty. That said, after such extreme volatility, a period of consolidation would be healthy. Gradual accumulation on weakness looks more prudent than aggressive dip-buying, especially for silver, which remains far more speculative.

2. Trimming Big Tech in February?

Not a wholesale exit, but some rebalancing makes sense. Big Tech is no longer uniformly cheap, and leadership has narrowed. Trimming stretched winners to fund exposure to under-owned areas, such as selected industrial AI, defence tech, or even real assets, can reduce concentration risk without abandoning the secular AI theme.

3. January Barometer: signal or noise?

The positive January finish is encouraging, but this does not feel like a “clean” barometer year. Liquidity shocks in precious metals and leadership uncertainty at the Federal Reserve suggest Q1 volatility is still a real risk. A choppy February to March would not invalidate a constructive 2026, but it does argue against complacency.

4. January earnings review

Earnings were broadly solid, but uneven. Margins held up better than feared, yet guidance mattered more than beats. Markets rewarded clarity and punished any hint of demand fragility. This reinforces that 2026 is shaping up to be a stock-picker’s year rather than a broad beta rally.

Bottom line

January set the tone for volatility, not direction. Opportunities are emerging, but patience and position sizing matter more than conviction alone.