New York, March 1, 2026, 15:00 EST — The session ended with the market now closed.
- Newmont picked up gains for the week, with bullion remaining active.
- Traders are on alert for a volatile open after weekend headlines out of the Middle East.
- Newmont landed on some Monday watchlists after an analyst upgrade.
Newmont Corporation (NEM) wrapped up Friday with a 1.98% gain to $130, marking its third straight advance. After hours, shares barely budged, last quoted near $130.19.
Attention turns to Monday after Reuters said U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the weekend, a shock that rattled risk appetite as some markets opened for the week. Oil prices, analysts warn, could gap higher. Gold probably surges too—moves that tend to light a fire under gold-related stocks.
Bullion kept climbing ahead of the weekend. Spot gold finished Friday up 0.8% at $5,230.56 an ounce, while U.S. futures ended 1% higher, driven by softer U.S. Treasury yields—always a plus for a non-yielding asset like gold. Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, put the next likely upside for gold at $5,450, pegging key support around $5,120. According to Reuters, markets were assigning roughly a 42% probability to a U.S. rate cut in June.
Bernstein bumped Newmont up to Outperform from Market-Perform on Friday, hiking its price target to $157 from $121, per Investing.com. The move reflected a stronger long-term view on gold. The firm also raised its gold price forecasts, now seeing $4,800 an ounce in 2026 and $6,100 in 2030, the report noted.
There are company dates coming up as well. Newmont’s $0.26 per share quarterly dividend will go out March 26 to anyone holding shares by the close on March 3, according to the company.
Newmont topped profit expectations in its Feb. 19 release and outlined $1.4 billion in project spending linked to the Newcrest deal, according to Reuters. The gold giant put out a 2026 production target of 5.3 million ounces, down from 5.89 million expected in 2025. CEO Natascha Viljoen put it plainly: “The focus on operational improvement is high on our agenda.” Reuters
Still, the dynamics go both directions. If bullion slips—or U.S. yields bounce back—miners can feel the impact quickly. Newmont’s ability to deliver on production and keep costs in line is hardly settled, as mine scheduling and project budgets remain fluid. Barrick and Agnico Eagle tend to move with gold as well, so broader sector shifts often overshadow individual headlines.
This week, markets are bracing to see how much fallout from the Middle East ripples through gold, oil, and interest rate bets, with risk appetite in focus once U.S. stocks resume trading Monday. The next major test comes with February’s U.S. jobs data, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on March 6.
