Why Precious Metals Stocks Like Gold Fields and Endeavour Silver Rallied Double Digits at the Open Today
Shares of silver and gold miner Endeavour Silver (NYSE: EXK) jumped 16% at the open on Jan. 4, the first trading day of 2021. Following close behind was a collection of precious metals miners, including AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) and Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI), both up just shy of 12%, and Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE: HMY), New Gold (NYSEMKT: NGD), and Fortuna Silver (NYSE: FSM), all of which were up roughly 10% in the first hour or so of trading. By 11:30 a.m. EST or so, all six of these stocks had pulled back some, but they each continued to cling to notable gains in the mid-to-high single digits or low double digits.
The big story here isn't shocking at all, that gold and silver were up in early trading. Since precious metals miners like these benefit from higher commodity prices, their stocks rose along with the metals they mine. Nothing shocking. That said, there are two supporting factors to consider here. First, the ongoing headwinds posed by the coronavirus, particularly the new faster-spreading variant, have investors looking for safe haven assets. Gold and silver often fills that role. Second, there's a thought among investors that the incoming U.S. administration will implement government policies that prove to be inflationary in nature. Investors also look to precious metals as a hedge against inflation.
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Source Fool.com
