Several big-name S&P/ASX200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold miners have seen their share prices jump as much as 3.50% in early trade including Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST), Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM).
At the time of writing, all three companies' share prices had risen over 2.50% in early trade as the ASX200 got off to a slow start, falling 0.2% to 6,191.1 points.
Newcrest announces acquisition
The Newcrest share price is up 2.53% at $25.12 at the time of writing and was the only one of the three to announce any market-moving news, as it flagged the acquisition of a potential Tier 1 orebody in Canada this morning.
Newcrest has agreed to acquire 70% of the Red Chris mine from Imperial Metals for US$806.5 million (A$1.15 billion) in cash, which, after expected closure in Q3 2019, it will become the operator of the mine.
Management said the acquisition supports its North American entry strategy and also provides immediate asset and geographic diversification while providing significant upside in the form of a large mineral endowment at the site.
What else is happening for gold miners?
With little else in the way of company-specific news, the miners have been buoyed by a gold price rally following a weaker than expected United States jobs report released on Friday.
The U.S. Labor Department released its March 2019 report which showed non-farm payrolls increased by 20,000, significantly missing estimates, which saw US equities weaken slightly on the news.
As the global equities markets remain somewhat volatile, the technical environment for gold remains supportive as somewhat of a safe-haven asset, even if its inflation-hedging properties are not necessarily kicking in at the moment.
Foolish takeaway
With the February reporting season done and dusted, the gold miners have emerged unscathed and given rising uncertainty about economic growth and global trade restrictions, they remain a strong diversification option within the ASX200.
For those who are looking for more growth than safety, I'd suggest checking out these top growth shares that have been tipped as market beaters.
