2023-03-11 11:38:07 ET
The S&P materials sector index fell -7.64% this week and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLB ) -7.59% . Sentiment was dampened by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's hawkish testimony to the Senate and the House, and hot jobs market data .
The banking sector was also hit by two events - the liquidation of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate ( SI ) and the collapse of SVB Financial ( SIVB ) unit Silicon Valley Bank. This helped precious metals rally on Friday, although their weekly performance was not as positive.
April Comex gold ( XAUUSD:CUR ) +0.7% to $1,867.76/oz, while May silver ( XAGUSD:CUR ) -3.43% to $20.53/oz.
Gold futures have been falling during the week after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said "inflationary pressures are running higher than expected " and left the door open to more interest rate hikes than previously planned.
Copper prices ( HG1:COM ) also dipped -1.22% for the week over fears of further interest rate hikes and rising supplies. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange, down -2.1% this week.
Take a look at this week's top gainers among basic material stocks ($2B market cap or more):
- Sibanye Stillwater ( SBSW ) +0.73%
- AngloGold Ashanti ( AU ) +0.69%
- Gold Fields ( GFI ) +0.21%
- Grupo Simec ( SIM ) +0.028%
- Sylvamo ( SLVM ) -1.95%
Here are the top losers among basic material stocks:
- Enviva ( EVA ) -18.13%
- Alcoa ( AA ) -17.51%
- Tronox ( TROX ) -16.65%
- Avantor ( AVTR ) -15.16%
- Lithium Americas ( LAC ) -14.32%
Other materials ETFs to watch: iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF ( WOOD ), Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF, Vanguard Materials ETF ( VAW ), iShares Global Materials ETF ( MXI ), SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF ( XME ), VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF ( GDX ), iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF ( RING ), Global X Copper Miners ETF ( COPX ).
For further details see:
Materials Sector Weekly Round-up: Sibanye Stillwater tops list; Enviva drops to bottom