Gold miners and bitcoin stocks fall on strong jobs data

Investing.com -- Gold mining and crypto-linked equities skidded Friday as a blowout U.S. jobs report dampened expectations for monetary easing, lifting implied odds of a Fed rate hike next week to 60% from 52%.

The Labor Department reported nonfarm payrolls surged by 162,000 last month, dwarfing the consensus forecast of 55,000. While the resilient labor market signals economic strength, Fed funds futures swiftly repriced policy expectations. Traders now see a 60% probability of a rate hike at next week’s meeting, up from 52% prior to the release. However, market participants emphasize that next week’s CPI data remains the ultimate decider before officials convene.

The prospect of sustained or higher yields rattled non-yielding assets, sending both gold bullion and bitcoin lower and pulling related equities down in tandem.

Gold Miners Slide

Major producers faced broad selling pressure, including Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: B), Newmont Corp (NYSE: NEM), Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM), Kinross Gold Corp (NYSE: KGC), Royal Gold Inc (NASDAQ: RGLD), and Gold Fields Ltd (NYSE: GFI).

Crypto & Miners Retreat

Digital asset proxies suffered similar headwinds. Bitcoin treasury holder MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ: MSTR) and American Bitcoin Corp (NASDAQ: ABTC) dropped, alongside digital asset platforms Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN), Galaxy Digital Inc (NASDAQ: GLXY), and Bgin Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ: BGIN). Circle Internet (NYSE: CRCL) and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) also declined.

Pure-play bitcoin miners were heavily hit, with losses extending across MARA Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: MARA), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT), CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ: CLSK), Core Scientific Inc (NASDAQ: CORZ), Hut 8 Corp (NASDAQ: HUT), Cipher Mining Inc (NASDAQ: CIFR), IREN Ltd (NASDAQ: IREN), and Bitdeer Technologies Group (NASDAQ: BTDR).

Robust labor metrics typically strengthen the case for tighter Fed policy, elevating real yields and raising the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing assets like precious metals and cryptocurrencies.

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