A hint of QE does not equate to actual QE. As the talking heads are parsing every word from Ben Bernanke’s congressional testimony this morning, gold and silver are giving back some of their gains from earlier this week. Bernanke has said that the Fed stands ready to act if the economic situation deteriorates, but the overall market has been acting like QE3 has already been announced and is ongoing.
Europe’s outstanding worries continue to weigh on the market as rumors surrounding Euro bonds are traded back and forth. Fitch also came out with a warning for the United States saying that our AAA credit rating was in danger due to fiscal concerns.
A quick look at gold and silver prices has gold down $15 to $1604 per ounce. Silver is also tracking to the downside, off 62 cents to $28.81 per ounce.
Gold and Silver Stocks
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) is down 3.73% this morning at $38.96. ABX has traded 3.3 million shares so far today and averages 8.9 million shares a day on average. ABX shares are down $4 a share in the past 24 hours. Barrick gave their CEO the boot yesterday due to its disappointing share price. The company has a market cap of 39.12 billion.
Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) is down 2.78% in early trading at $8.37. KGC has traded 2.05 million shares this morning and trades 9.9 million shares a day on average. KGC shares are down $0.70 a share in the past day. The company has a market cap of 9.53 billion.
Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG) is down 3.13% today at $38.98. GG has traded 1.5 million shares so far today and trades 6.3 million shares a day on average. GG shares are down $2 a share over the past few days. The company has a market cap of 31.55 billion.
Yamana Gold, Inc. (NYSE:AUY) is down 3.73% today at $15.48. AUY has traded 1.9 million shares and trades 7.4 million shares a day on average. AUY shares are down $0.50 a share over the past day. The company has a market cap of 11.77 billion.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) is down 2.26% this morning at $50.56. NEM has traded 1.5 million shares so far today and trades 7.7 million shares a day on average. Despite being down today, NEM shares are still up nearly 6% over the past week. The company has a market cap of 25.37 billion.
Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL) is down 2.39% today at $4.55. HL has traded 1.5 million shares so far today and trades 5.3 million shares a day on average. HL shares are falling today as gold and silver prices trend lower. The company has a market cap of 1.32 billion.
ProShares Ultra SIlver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) is down 3.61% this morning at $42.44. AGQ has traded 742 thousand shares so far today and trades 1.7 million shares a day on average. AGQ shares are down about $3 a share since the start of trading yesterday.
iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) is down 1.82% today at $28.02. SLV has traded 7.4 million shares this morning and trades 14.9 million shares a day on average. SLV shares are down $1 since yesterday.
Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) is down 1.73% today at $27.66. SLW has traded 1.4 million shares in early trading and trades 5.6 million shares a day on average. SLW shares were up about $2 a share over the past week before dipping today. The company has a market cap of 9.81 billion.
Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation (NYSE:CDE) is up 1% this morning at $19.14. CDE has traded 864 thousand shares so far today and trades 1.5 million shares a day on average. Coeur d’Alene Mines announced today a share repurchase program of up to $100 million. The company has a market cap of 1.73 billion.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS) is down 1.72% today at $18.27. PAAS has traded 709 thousand shares so far today and trades 2.01 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 2.80 billion.
About Martin Stephenson
