Key Highlights

● The VanEck Gold Miners ETF was sharply lower at midday on Thursday.

● Gold futures fell to about $4,060 an ounce, the lowest in over two months.

● Newmont beat the $1.96 consensus with adjusted earnings of $2.20 a share.

● Newmont improved its 2026 all-in sustaining cost guidance to $1,520 an ounce.

Gold mining stocks sank on Thursday, October 22, as the price of bullion retreated. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF, a widely followed basket of major producers, was sharply lower at midday, making miners among the weakest groups in a market that was otherwise rotating into defensive stocks.

The slide tracked gold itself. December gold futures fell to about $4,060 an ounce, according to one data source, while another put the close near $4,039. Either way, it was the lowest in more than two months, and market data called it the lowest close since July.

Why miners move more than the metal

Gold miners are a leveraged bet on the price of gold. Their costs to dig the metal out of the ground, such as labor, energy and equipment, are relatively fixed in the short run. So when gold falls, a larger share of each ounce's profit margin disappears, and their earnings can drop faster than the metal price.

That leverage cuts both ways. Miners have benefited from gold's strong run above $4,000 an ounce. On Thursday, the same dynamic magnified the downside.

Energy costs add another wrinkle. Brent crude rose to $113.17, its highest since May 4, and fuel is a significant expense for mining operations.

Silver and copper also slid

The retreat spread across metals. Silver fell $2.70 to $55.01. Copper slid to its lowest close since July. Alcoa (NYSE:AA) fell after an analyst firm downgraded it to Hold from Buy.

Thursday was a broad de-risking day. Bitcoin fell toward $81,000, and a major bank said its clients pulled a record $14.8 billion from single stocks. Market reports did not single out a specific trigger for gold's decline.

Newmont reports after the bell

Newmont (NYSE:NEM), a major gold miner, reported third-quarter results after Thursday's close. It posted adjusted earnings of $2.20 a share, compared with a consensus of $1.96, on sales of $6.36 billion. Free cash flow came in at $1.9 billion, and the company improved its 2026 all-in sustaining cost guidance to $1,520 an ounce.

"We produced approximately 1.3 million attributable gold ounces, and generated $1.9 billion of free cash flow," CEO Natascha Viljoen said. Newmont's own regular-session move and its after-hours reaction were not available.

The wider market

The miners' slide came during a lopsided session. The Nasdaq Composite fell 694 points to 26,008.86 and the S&P 500 dropped 93.74 points to 7,663.43, its worst day since July, as artificial-intelligence and chip stocks sold off. Yet about two of every three S&P 500 stocks rose, according to market data, as money flowed into consumer staples, health care, utilities and homebuilders.

Treasuries rallied strongly, and the 10-year yield fell back below a closely watched threshold for the first time since September 22. Lower yields usually support gold, which pays no interest, so the drop in both bullion and miners stood out. The yen and Swiss franc led major currencies.

Newmont's Friday Test for Miners

Newmont's share reaction on Friday will be the first test of whether strong cash flow can offset weaker gold prices. The Federal Reserve, led by Chair Kevin Warsh, announces its decision on October 28, and September PCE inflation follows on October 29, both key for gold. Developments in Saudi Arabia and Iran could revive haven buying. Investors will also watch whether gold can stabilize above $4,000 an ounce.