| Gold Sends Miners on a 10% Weekly Pop | 11/6/09 |
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Equity investors continued to shrug off the seemingly ever-growing unemployment rate on Friday, but that didn’t stop commodity investors from bidding gold to a new record high. In a consumer-driven economy like the U.S., logic suggests that higher unemployment figures should weigh on the equity markets. In 2009 however, that hasn’t been the case. Even today, as the national unemployment rate hits its highest level in more than a quarter-century, stocks are pushing higher in the early trade. The bulls are still in charge in the equity markets, but that hasn’t stopped investors from bidding up the price of one of the Street’s favorite safe haven plays. Gold broke to a new record high this morning above $1100 an ounce, and mining stocks are adding to an already impressive week-long rally. Prior to today’s opening bell, the Gold and Silver Stocks Index was lagging the S&P 500 by -3% on a one-month basis. Today’s session should help close the gap, adding to an already strong week for mining stocks. Seabridge Gold (SA), Hecla Mining (HL), and IAMGOLD (IAG) are carrying the strongest momentum into today’s session. All three moved higher by over 20% in the five trading days ended Thursday. Meanwhile, Goldcorp (GG), Barrick Gold (ABX), and AngloGold Ashanti (AU) have also surged higher by over 10%. Fellow giant Newmont Mining (NEM) is up by nearly 9% for the period. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) ETF is also set to move higher today, while many of the energy-tied components of the Commodity ETFs Index are feeling pressure. As of this writing, the Gold and Silver Stocks Index is one of the top-5 performing tickerspy Indexes over the last week, up by 12%. It will be interesting to see if today’s trade shakes up the rankings. |
