2026 Volatility Playbook: NVDA, B, NEM & More in AI, Gold & Power

The year 2026 has opened with significant cross-asset volatility, driven by rising geopolitical risk, late-cycle monetary uncertainty and uneven earnings visibility. Rather than triggering broad sell-offs, these forces are producing sharp sector and asset-class rotations.

Precious Metals Signal Risk Repricing

The clearest signal is the extraordinary move in precious metals. Gold has traded above $5,300/oz(according to goldprice.org), while silver exceeded $110/oz over the past 30 days, marking one of the strongest monthly starts in decades. Gold is up roughly up 23% in January alone, which, according to Reuters, is its best monthly performance since the 1980s.

FTSE Russell (LSEG) data underline the scale of the shift- gold rose 65.2% in 2025 and silver more than 150%, dramatically outperforming global equities, while gold-mining equities, as measured by the FTSE Gold Mines Index, gained 166.4%. By comparison, the FTSE All-World Index advanced 23.1%. This confirms that precious metals and gold miners dramatically outperformed global equities in 2025.

Crypto: Diversifier, Not a Safe Haven

Cryptocurrencies, by contrast, are behaving less like “digital gold” and more like a liquidity-sensitive satellite asset. Bitcoin has struggled to keep pace with metals during volatility spikes and has shown limited defensive characteristics during January’s risk shocks, supporting its role as a diversification tool rather than a primary hedge.

2026 Earnings Expected to be Resilient Amid Volatility

Despite macro stress, the mean earnings-per-share (EPS) estimate for the Zacks S&P 500 Composite points to growth of 29.3% in 2026. Volatility has therefore become selective, with capital rotating away from leveraged cyclicals toward assets with pricing power, strong balance sheets or strategic scarcity.

AI Capex

Accelerating technological capital expenditure is a defining feature of this cycle. Companies continue to increase long-term investment in AI data centers, advanced semiconductors, cloud infrastructure and the power and cooling systems that support them. Even as economic growth slows, these investments remain non-negotiable, reflecting AI and automation’s role as strategic necessities rather than discretionary upgrades.

For many businesses, sustaining competitiveness, improving productivity and securing future growth now depend on maintaining and expanding this technology spending, making it one of the most resilient areas of capital deployment in the current cycle.

3 Sectors Positioning for 2026 Gain

In a volatile 2026 environment, selective sector allocation, not broad market exposure, offers the clearest path to consistent and outsized returns. For intelligent equity investors, 2026 positioning should emphasize selective exposure over broad beta. Three sectors stand out are: Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure and semiconductors, Precious metals and gold-linked equities; and Energy and critical materials.

AI Infrastructure & Semiconductors: Capital is concentrating in companies that own AI capacity. NVIDIA’s NVDA accelerators and software ecosystem continue to anchor hyperscaler spend, while Micron Technology MU is emerging as a critical beneficiary as AI servers drive structurally higher demand for high-bandwidth memory and advanced DRAM, tightening supply and improving pricing visibility. While MU sports a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy), NVDA carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Micron is projected to report 298.7% in fiscal 2026 (ending August 2026), while NVIDIA is expected to report 57.1% earnings growth in fiscal 2027 (ending January 2027). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Mean Long-term EPS Growth Rate: Computer Integrated Systems- S&P 500 Index

Precious Metals & Gold-linked Equities: Gold-mining equities have materially outperformed bullion as margins expand on higher realized prices and disciplined capex. The rally has broadened into silver, leveraged to both monetary hedging and industrial demand. Producers with cost control and reserve life, such as Newmont NEM and Barrick B, are benefiting from operating leverage, while explorers remain volatile but option-rich in the metals upcycle. While both the stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), they hold strong 2026 earnings projections. While Barrick is projected to report 45% earnings growth in 2026, Newmont is expected to report earnings growth of 20.8% in 2026.

Mean Long-term EPS Growth Rate: Mining-Gold Market- S&P 500 Index

Energy & Critical Materials: AI data centers are accelerating demand for electricity and key inputs such as copper, nickel and uranium. As electrification trends intersect with AI-driven load growth, supply constraints—particularly in copper—are reshaping return profiles. Utilities with data-center exposure, including NextEra NEE, with a Zacks Rank #2 and Constellation, are gaining earnings visibility, while miners with scalable assets show rerating potential. NEE is expected to report earnings growth of 7.8% in 2026.

Mean Long-term EPS Growth Rate: Utility-Electric Power Market-S&P 500 Index

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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