Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (GG), Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (ABX): Stocks Rose, But Gold Shined Even Brighter

Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes — just in case they’re material to our investing thesis

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published yesterday, after market close.

Overall, stock markets posted modest gains in breaking a three-day losing streak, with the Dow Jones Industrials rising about 0.2%, while the S&P and Nasdaq had slightly better gains of 0.4%. But doing particularly well were the precious metals markets, which featured much better performance than stocks today, as gold recaptured all of the ground it had lost during the week.

As of 4 p.m. EDT, spot gold rose $26 per ounce, to $1,314, pushing back above the $1,300 level after dipping below it on Tuesday for the first time since July 19. Major gold miners Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG), and Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) all posted sharp gains of 8% and 10% on the day, as they essentially represent levered plays on gold prices even with their relatively attractive cost structures. Canadian-based Goldcorp and Barrick also arguably benefited from the rise in the Canadian dollar, which climbed almost 1% versus the U.S. dollar.

Silver prices jumped even higher on a percentage basis, with spot prices picking up $0.75, to $20.34. Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) soared 11% despite posting a second-quarter loss in its earnings report this morning, as the company said it expects increasing gold and silver production as a result of the restoration of regular activity levels at its Lucky Friday mine in Idaho, which was closed for more than a year during 2012 and early 2013.