New York, Jan 7, 2026, 07:33 EST — Premarket
- Gold and silver miner shares climb in early U.S. trading after a choppy bullion run near record levels
- Metal-backed ETFs stay in focus as investors weigh a firmer dollar and profit-taking
- ADP data due Wednesday; U.S. payrolls on Friday loom as the next macro trigger
Gold and silver stocks were higher in U.S. premarket trading on Wednesday, led by silver miners, as investors stuck with the sector after bullion’s sharp start to the year. Newmont was up about 5.5%, while Hecla Mining and First Majestic rose roughly 12.8% and 9.9%, respectively.
The move matters because miners and precious-metals ETFs have turned into a fast macro trade again: a mix of geopolitics, rate bets and a crowded positioning story. Mining shares tend to exaggerate swings in metal prices, and the ETF wrappers make it easy to move size quickly.
Gold itself cooled off in the latest session, but the tape remains jumpy. Spot gold slipped about 1% to around $4,453 an ounce and silver fell about 2.5% to $79.26, as a firmer dollar and profit-taking weighed, Reuters reported. “In the short term, some investors are taking profit,” Swissquote external analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said, pointing to the dollar’s recovery as another drag. 1
That pullback follows two sessions where safe-haven bids and rate-cut talk did most of the work. “Precious metals traders see more risk on the horizon than stock and bond traders do,” Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, said on Tuesday, when spot gold rose to about $4,485 and silver jumped above $80. Investors are also staring at Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report after expectations for a modest 60,000 jobs added in December, Reuters wrote. 2
A Morgan Stanley note dated Jan. 5 put another marker down for the market to chew on, forecasting gold at $4,800 an ounce by the fourth quarter and flagging ongoing central-bank and fund buying as a support. The bank also said 2025 likely marked the peak silver deficit, while China’s export licence requirements starting this year added upside risk for silver. 3
On the ETF side, SPDR Gold Shares and iShares Gold Trust were up about 1.1% in premarket trade, while iShares Silver Trust and abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF were up around 6.7%. Miner baskets also caught a bid, with VanEck Gold Miners up about 4.1%, VanEck Junior Gold Miners up about 3.9% and Global X Silver Miners up about 4.2%. (Metal-backed ETFs hold bullion; miner ETFs track baskets of mining shares.)
Among single names, Newmont led the larger gold producers higher, while Agnico Eagle, Kinross and streamer Wheaton Precious Metals also rose. In silver, Pan American Silver added about 4.5%, with Hecla and First Majestic sharply higher, underscoring how quickly the higher-beta names can move when silver swings.
But the setup cuts both ways. If the dollar extends gains or U.S. data pushes yields higher, bullion can drop fast and miners usually fall harder, especially after a run that left prices and expectations stretched.
Next up: the ADP private payrolls report due Wednesday, then Friday’s nonfarm payrolls. Traders are watching whether gold steadies after the latest dip and whether silver can hold the $80 area as rate bets and Venezuela headlines keep the market twitchy.
