The momentum trade for 2026 was broken with gold, silver and South Korea falling significantly.

This year’s most popular trades – gold, silver and South Korea – fell sharply on concerns that the war with Iran could last longer than expected.

The movements are as follows:

• Gold price slide: spot gold It was last down more than 5% at $5,041.81 per ounce. gold gift It fell 5% to $5,049. It’s still up more than 16% this year.
• Silver price crash: Gifts related to products It fell more than 8% to $81.23 per ounce. To date, this figure remains 15% higher.
• Korea fell significantly: that iShares MSCI Korea ETF (EWY) It’s down 14%, but remains almost 30% higher year to date.

Each of these deals has seen tremendous momentum in 2026, winning bids as investors grow nervous about their exposure to U.S. large-cap technology and look for asset classes that could drive market performance further. at last, S&P 500 It has surged 64% on a cumulative basis over the past three years. This year it’s down 1%.

Gold, silver, and Korea each have their own charm. Investors are optimistic that gold’s upward trajectory will remain intact as central banks around the world diversify away from the U.S. dollar, and many are confident that bullion could soon surpass $6,000 an ounce. Silver is expected to benefit from the close relationship between supply and demand and has large industrial use cases centered around AI.

Korea’s outstanding performance this year is largely related to global memory demand, with the stock prices of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which account for a large portion of Korea’s KOSPI index, rising in particular. The two memory powerhouses are up more than 50% and 44%, respectively, year to date.

But all three trades were cleared along with the broader market on Tuesday as oil prices soared and prospects of deepening conflict in Iran revived inflation concerns. brent oilThe international index exceeded $84 per barrel. WTI Crude Oil It jumped to over $77.

Even gold was caught up in a selling frenzy, which is unusual for a typically safe-haven asset during a crisis. But investors appeared to be dumping assets indiscriminately, worried they may have gone too far, too fast.