Well Look At That: Gold Miners ETFs Try To Bounce Back

Gold and the related exchange traded funds have been among this year's most moribund asset classes. Gold miners stocks and ETFs have fared noticeably worse, but despite some modest Friday losses, bullion and miners funds have been solid performers this week.

China's move to devalue the yuan is being cited as a primary catalyst behind bullion bullishness this week and for those that are believers in seasonal trends, the start of India's wedding season is fast-approaching. That is an important gold catalyst because the country is the second-largest gold consumer in the world behind China.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX), the largest gold miners ETF, is up 7.7 percent this week, a move that has brought some much needed relief to the downtrodden miners complex. With GDX rising, its leveraged counterparts are on fire.

Heading into Friday's session, the Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NYSE: JNUG) and the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NYSE: NUGT) were that issuer's two best triple-leveraged funds on a month-to-date basis with gains of 20.8 percent and 16.3 percent, respectively. JNUG is the triple-leveraged answer to the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ).

Remember, it was just a week ago that Direxion announced reverse splits of 1-for-10 for NUGT and 1-for-5 for JNUG

ETF reverse splits, in most meaning nearly all instances, do not come about because the fund in question is performing well. That is the case with JNUG and NUGT, which have posted an average year-to-date loss of over 62 percent.

That dramatic decline underscores weakness in the mining complex, but as Direxion notes, some big gold miners are taking steps to deal with a turbulent environment for gold.

“Randgold Resources, another top holding in the index, has avoided the worst of the turmoil that’s cut into profits for miners and has lowered costs, and raised cash. The best-performing gold miner over the last 10 years, is getting ready for prices to dip well below $1,000.” 

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) and Randgold Resources Ltd. GOLD are the fourth- and fifth-largest holdings in the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (GDMNTR), the index tracked by GDX and the index NUGT attempts to deliver triple the daily returns of. The stocks combine for 11.3 percent of that index's weight.

For the daring, risk-tolerant gold miners bulls, GDX, NUGT and JNUG could offer some allure at current levels.

“The bulls may think that miners are poised to make a new run. In fact, according to Bloomberg, mining stocks are the cheapest relative to gold that they’ve been in 30 years. Some traders may take this as a sign to jump into miners because they’re oversold,” notes Direxion.

Posted In: Long IdeasSector ETFsShort IdeasCommoditiesIntraday UpdateMarketsMoversTrading IdeasETFs
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