Precious metals miner stocks and sector-related exchange traded fund lead gains Friday after a weaker-than-expected monthly jobs data fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve would hold off on an interest rate hike this month.
Leading the charge on Friday, Global X Gold Explorers ETF (NYSEArca: GLDX) jumped 5.2%, VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca: GDXJ) advanced 4.7%, PureFunds Junior Silver Miners ETF (NYSEArca: SILJ) surged 4.4% and iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners Fund ETF (NYSEArca: SLVP) gained 4.2%.
More aggressive traders capitalized on the move leveraged miner ETFs. For instance, the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X Shares (NYSEArca: NUGT) increased 9.0% and Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bull 3X Shares (NYSEArca: JNUG) rose 14.4%.
[related_stories]Meanwhile, the Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSEArca: SIL) was up 4.1% and VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEArca: GDX) was 3.1% higher. Additionally, the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) rose 0.8% as Comex gold futures added 0.7% to $1,325.9 per ounce, and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) climbed 2.2% as Comex silver futures added 2.1% to $19.34 per ounce.
SEE MORE: Silver ETFs Could See a September Swoon
Precious metals-related assets rallied after the Labor Department revealed U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 151,000 in August, compared to expectations of about 180,000 new additions.
“This mixed jobs report puts the Fed in a tricky situation. It’s not all-around strong enough to assure a September interest rate hike. But it’s solid enough to engender a heated policy discussion,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, told Reuters.