Gold prices rebounded above US$5,000 an ounce as investors returned to precious metals following last week’s historic collapse from record highs above US$5,500. The move comes amid heightened volatility across assets and renewed focus on currency and interest-rate expectations.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Tony Ciero, vice-president and senior portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities, about gold’s rebound, growing price swings, and how investors are positioning around big-tech earnings, artificial intelligence spending and currency dynamics.
Key Takeaways
- Gold’s rebound above US$5,000 reflects renewed buying interest after a rapid pullback from record highs above US$5,500.
- Expectations around U.S. dollar strength and interest rates remain key drivers of short-term gold price swings.
- Elevated volatility is reshaping investor behaviour, with sharp moves creating tactical buying opportunities rather than long-term exits.
- Big-tech earnings continue to show widening divergence, with capital spending on artificial intelligence weighing unevenly on stock performance.
- Resource producers with costs in Canadian dollars and revenues priced in U.S. dollars remain well positioned amid currency shifts.
Read the full transcript below:
LINDSAY: Gold rebounded above US$5,000 an ounce as bargain hunters chased precious metals after a historic collapse from last week’s record highs above US$5,500. Let’s get more on this from Tony Ciero, vice-president and senior portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities. It’s good to have you join us. Thanks so much.
TONY: Good morning, Lindsay. How are you?
LINDSAY: I’m good. I’m good. I hope you’re good as well.
TONY: I am.
LINDSAY: OK, so gold is up today. Is this a case of investors buying the dip? What do you think?
TONY: Well, we saw gold pull back last week about 10 to 13 per cent on the announcement of Trump’s recommended choice for the next Fed chair, Kevin Warsh. Apparently, he’s more hawkish. He wants to strengthen the U.S. dollar and was against quantitative easing programs back during the financial crisis. That more hawkish mentality weighed on investors, especially as the U.S. dollar had been declining and the price of gold had appreciated. Going forward, if the U.S. dollar increases because interest rates are higher, then maybe gold had become overvalued. I think some of those fears have subsided. We’re still believers in gold, even at these levels. We’re seeing a nice rebound, and long term, we do believe the U.S. dollar will weaken and that gold prices will continue to appreciate.
LINDSAY: What’s interesting is data compiled by Bloomberg today showing gold has become more volatile than bitcoin, with 30-day volatility climbing above 44 per cent. You’re nodding your head — you knew that. So are we still going to see volatility throughout the year?
TONY: Yes, and volatility creates great buying opportunities. If you have a firm stance that an asset will appreciate based on its fundamentals, then dips in price can be good entry points. Long term, at least from our perspective, we think gold will continue to appreciate as the U.S. looks to weaken its currency, which should support gold prices. Bitcoin is different. Volatility there peaked around US$125,000 last year and has since settled closer to US$75,000. Bitcoin is more driven by geopolitical risk, and in a risk-off environment, the riskiest assets are sold first. We’re seeing more geopolitical tension — whether it’s Greenland or Venezuela — and that’s creating selling pressure in bitcoin.
LINDSAY: Let’s turn to earnings. We’re right in the middle of earnings season, and it’s been a big week. Microsoft, Meta, Tesla and Apple have all reported. Any major takeaways?
TONY: We’re focused on big tech earnings because they’ve driven U.S. equities over the last couple of years. So far, it’s been a mixed bag. Microsoft reported solid results, but capital expenditures were much higher than expected, which led to about a 13 per cent pullback in the stock. Tesla also struggled as vehicle sales slowed and the company discontinued its Model S and X. On the other hand, Meta performed quite well, and Apple posted the highest iPhone sales in its history, which is very encouraging.
LINDSAY: Alphabet reports after the close today. What are you watching for?
TONY: We expect earnings to be quite good, but the focus will be on outlook and AI monetization — particularly Gemini, which is Alphabet’s large language model. It enhances Google’s traditional search capabilities. If Alphabet can show meaningful monetization going forward, that could drive a positive reaction in the stock.
LINDSAY: Let’s move to stock picks. We were just talking about Microsoft, but you still like it?
TONY: Yes. We believe the stock was oversold. Capital expenditures were higher than forecast, and free cash flow declined — not negative, but lower. Microsoft has committed significant future spending to AI infrastructure, and when free cash flow tightens, borrowing increases. That can pressure margins in the short term. But we view this as temporary. Azure cloud growth could have been stronger if all GPUs had been allocated there, but Microsoft strategically redirected some capacity to Microsoft 365 Copilot. That’s their AI-powered assistant across Word, PowerPoint and Excel. They’re starting to see strong adoption, with roughly 50 million paying Copilot subscribers out of about 450 million Microsoft Office users. That creates meaningful long-term monetization potential, and we see the recent pullback as a buying opportunity.
LINDSAY: We’ll have to be quick on this last one. Cenovus Energy is your other pick. They’ve been in the news after a worker was killed and another injured at an oilsands site. Does that impact the stock?
TONY: It’s unfortunate, and safety incidents can weigh on sentiment, as we saw with Suncor several years ago. That said, Cenovus is up about 15 per cent year to date. The company completed its acquisition of MEG Energy late last year, and we’re starting to see synergies, including higher production. They also have growth projects coming online, including Narrows Lake in the oilsands and the White Rose project offshore Newfoundland, expected later this year. That should drive production growth, and we believe Cenovus is undervalued at current levels.
LINDSAY: That’s all the time we have. Tony Ciero, vice-president and senior portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities. Thanks very much for joining us.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the Feb. 4, 2026 interview with Tony Ciero are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
