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Big News Has Become the Norm. Don’t Let it Derail Your Plan
Hoxton Blog • Big News Has Become the Norm. Don’t Let it Derail Your Plan
It’s starting to feel as though every week brings another market moving headline.
And with today’s technology, it’s accessible all the time.
What used to be the occasional surprise has become part of the routine – and investors are learning to navigate an environment where “big news” is just business as usual.
Last week was a good example. The U.S. administration announced a new round of sweeping sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
The move marks Washington’s most serious step yet in trying to push Moscow back toward negotiation over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
For months, President Trump had warned of tougher action but stopped short of pulling the trigger. That hesitation has now ended.
Markets interpreted the shift as a sign that diplomacy is giving way to direct economic confrontation – and, as always, prices moved quickly to reflect the new reality.
Adding to the week’s swirl of data and politics news, September’s U.S. inflation report (delayed by the government shutdown) came in slightly below expectations, with monthly prices up 0.3% and the annual rate easing to 3%.
That’s not a dramatic move, but in a market hypersensitive to inflation signals, it was enough to add another layer of reaction.
Markets React to Headlines
Equities took the news in stride – in fact, more than that. Wall Street rallied on Thursday following the sanctions announcement, then again on Friday after the inflation print. The Dow climbed 0.8%, the S&P 500 rose 0.9%, and the Nasdaq led the charge with a 1.2% gain.
These are not enormous moves in historical terms, but they underline just how reactive the market has become. Investors are jumping on each new headline, whether it’s geopolitical tension or a slightly softer data point.
The result is a market that feels fast and sometimes disjointed – a carousel of optimism and caution spinning in quick succession.
Commodities: Volatility Takes Centre Stage
While equities were digesting policy news, commodities went through a bout of turbulence of their own.
Gold, which has surged this year amid geopolitical uncertainty, experienced its sharpest single day drop in over a decade. Prices fell more than 6% at one stage, settling around $4,130 by Tuesday afternoon.
That kind of correction might sound alarming, but in context it’s a reminder of how extended this rally had become. Even after the pullback, analysts still expect gold to remain strong into next year, with long term averages projected near $5,000 an ounce.
Silver and platinum saw similar retracements – down 6.7% and 7.2%, respectively – after strong year to date gains. Both recovered later in the week as investors sought safety again in the wake of the sanctions news.
It’s a pattern we’ve seen repeatedly this year: fast money moves out on profit taking, only to rush back in at the first sign of geopolitical stress.
Oil prices, meanwhile, moved in the opposite direction. The sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil lifted crude to a two-week high as traders priced in potential supply disruptions.
Markets are already considering what retaliation from Moscow could mean for output or shipping. For now, the oil market remains well supplied, but sentiment can change quickly when politics intersects with production.
What It All Means for Investors
Taken together, the week’s events highlight how closely tied asset prices have become to the 24-hour news cycle.
Inflation, energy, and geopolitics are separate entities – but in the short term, they are blending into a single narrative that moves markets by the hour.
For investors, the key takeaway isn’t to predict the next headline. It’s to accept that surprises will keep coming and to build portfolios that can absorb them.
A well-diversified approach does exactly that, spreading exposure across assets that respond differently to inflation, growth, and political shocks.
When markets are jumpy, it’s easy to chase whatever’s rising. Gold can feel safe when the world looks messy; oil can look tempting when supply looks tight. But putting too much in one area makes your portfolio fragile. Commodities can help – but mainly as a safety buffer, not the main engine of returns.
As these graphs illustrate, gold may outperform equities over the course of a year. But, in the long-term, equities almost invariably do better.
A steadier base is a mix of good shares and bonds. For shares, prefer companies that can raise prices and have strong finances – they can handle higher costs or slower demand.
For bonds, it is a good idea to use some shorter ones for flexibility and some medium-term ones for stability to balance risk.
Cash has a job too, not to grow, but to give you options. Keeping a small cash cushion lets you rebalance on your schedule instead of being forced to sell or buy at bad times. That’s especially useful when markets swing between extremes.
Using Volatility to Your Advantage
The best way to manage volatility is not to react to it but to use it. Scheduled rebalancing – trimming outperformers and topping up laggards – is a disciplined way to turn market noise into opportunity. It means you’re consistently selling high and buying low without relying on short term predictions.
At Hoxton Wealth, our approach hasn’t changed. We maintain small, carefully chosen allocations to commodities and alternative assets, but the backbone of our portfolios remains diversified global equities and high-quality bonds. We don’t chase fads or make bets on single events.
The principle is simple: stay invested, stay diversified, and keep perspective. Big news will keep coming, that’s the world we live in now. But portfolios built on discipline rather than reaction can weather those headlines and use them to stay on course.
In short, volatility is part of the landscape. The goal isn’t to dodge it; it’s to build an investment plan sturdy enough to stand through it.
If you’d like to discuss your portfolio, review your long-term plan, or simply seek reassurance during uncertain times, reach out to our client services team at client.services@hoxtonwealth.com or through our global WhatsApp line at +44 7384 100200.
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