Michaël Lok

The mining rally in 2025 was led by precious and base metals, with gold miners up roughly 150% year-to-date, and prices for gold, silver, and copper all at record highs.

Global power demand is entering a new and sustained growth phase, marking a clear shift from the flat or declining trends seen in developed markets over much of the past two decades. This change is being driven by the need to upgrade infrastructure and by rising power demand not seen for years in developed economies.

The technology sector continues to be at the forefront of innovation, driven by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).

Chinese authorities are now fully behind the technology sector after years of cracking down on it. Self-sufficiency in semiconductors and AI has become a top strategic priority, driven by geopolitical tensions.

The reframing of the global geopolitical order, coupled with the race for supremacy in AI, forms the cornerstone of UBP’s portfolio construction approach.

Equity markets have seesawed in response to renewed geopolitical threats of a transatlantic trade war. A Greenland-related U-turn at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos offered momentary relief.

Geopolitical tensions have intensified since the start of the year, spanning Venezuela, Greenland and Iran. At the same time, resource nationalism is on the rise, with major powers increasingly competing for control of strategically critical commodities. While this backdrop underpins gold, equity markets remained largely unscathed last week: small caps outperformed as earnings momentum broadens beyond the technology sector. This week, the Davos summit will shine more light on geopolitics, as concerns about Greenland are rising.

Despite geopolitical tensions, investors embraced equities, with broader sector participation signalling hopes that corporate earnings growth will stretch beyond technology this year. The US dollar continued to soften, though this week’s inflation data is unlikely to spark any sharp drops.