Last week ended with sharp price jumps on the financial markets. First he paid Tech-Riese Microsoft despite good business figures, the value fell sharply. Then the German software company SAP followed with a loss of up to 16 percent in just a few hours. For the most valuable German group to date, it was probably the no longer good outlook for the cloud services business that frightened investors. SAP recorded a net profit of 7.5 billion euros in 2025 and announced a share buyback program of ten billion euros, which should normally support the share price.
On Friday, the turbulence hit the precious metal. The price of silver fell by 30 percent. While an ounce cost around $115 on Thursday, it fell to just $73 early Monday morning. Gold also became significantly cheaper after its long-lasting rise. Buyers still had to pay more than $5,500 per ounce during the week. Gold went into the weekend at a price of less than $4,900. At the start of the week, the value of the precious metal fell by another $350. And the German leading index DAX also slipped by half a percent at the start of trading on Monday.
Bitcoin & Co also got a bad hit. At around $76,000, the price of the most important cryptocurrency is well below its high of $125,000 last October. The second most important virtual currency Ethereum fared no better.
Experts see various reasons for the extreme market fluctuations these days. When SAP’s share price fell, for example, doubts were raised about the viability of the business model with cloud services. For some time now, SAP has not only been offering business software, but also server services, analyses, databases and network services for license fees. One concern is the further development of the Artificial Intelligence (AI)which could possibly cause problems for the group in this business area. Nevertheless, the reaction of the markets is also surprising for the SAP management. “I would not have expected such a strong effect on the share price,” said CEO Dominik Asam to the Handelsblatt.
AI is unsettling the financial markets
The further development of AI is one of the greatest uncertainties in the financial markets. The leading companies here, such as the chip manufacturer Nvidia, Google or Facebook parent Meta, are very highly rated. AI companies are investing billions of euros in building data centers worldwide. The question is whether these investments can actually be converted into high profits. Analysts disagree. Pessimists are already seeing a bubble forming here. If the bubble bursts, the company’s valuations can quickly plummet. Optimists believe the high valuations are justified because AI is the future and enables further increasing profits.
The US President’s erratic policies are also causing unpredictable market developments. Donald Trump’s tariff policy and his constant attacks on the independence of the American Federal Reserve are causing confidence in the stability of the USA to decline. This also briefly put selling pressure on the US dollar last week. Analysts see erratic politics as a reason for the long rise in precious metal prices. Gold and silver are considered safe havens. An indirect confirmation of this thesis is the collapse in the price of both metals. Last week, Trump named his candidate for the future leadership of the central bank, who could preserve the Fed’s independence. A new budget standstill in the USA was once again prevented. This reassuring development then probably caused investors to withdraw from precious metals and pocket the profits that arose there.
In view of the current situation, predictions about further developments appear risky. The assessments of the professionals in the financial houses vary significantly. The German financial regulator (Bafin) sees many risks for investors. The situation remains fragile despite what at first glance appears to be positive price developments, according to Bafin’s risk report for the current year: “International trade conflictsthe sometimes high government debt of important industrialized nations and greatly increased valuation levels – for example in the technology sector – could trigger a pronounced correction.”