S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) stocks are lower on Thursday, down 0.13% to 8,726 points.
Back in April, the market had a meltdown after US President Donald Trump revealed harsher-than-expected reciprocal tariffs.
The US tariffs shocked the world and put many partnerships within the global trading community under a cloud.
Overall, the tariffs have injected fear into stock markets, with analysts unsure as to how they will impact global trade in the long run.
President Trump's unpredictable nature has created another element of fear for markets.
Since revealing the tariffs, the US implemented a 90-day reprieve — then extended it — and has made individual deals with several nations.
The latest deal is with Japan. President Trump described it yesterday as "perhaps the largest deal ever made".
In exchange for cutting the reciprocal tariff on Japan from 24% to 15%, Japan will invest $550 billion into the US.
No one knows how this will all come out once the full range of tariffs go into effect, which is expected next month.
Generally speaking, share markets hate uncertainty.
Overall, there aren't too many ASX 200 stocks benefiting from all the confusion that the US tariffs have created.
But Blackwattle Investment Partners says ASX 200 gold stock Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) is one of them.
Here's why.
ASX 200 stock thriving on uncertainty
Uncertainty generally makes investors look for safe-haven options. This has fuelled the rise in the gold price over the past year.
That boost to the commodity price has 'lifted all boats', as they say, with the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold Index (ASX: XGD) rising 57% in FY25.
The gold price ascended to a record US$3,500.05 per ounce on 22 April. On Thursday, the gold price is steady at $US3,388 per ounce.
Meantime, the Newmont share price is down 1.23% to $92.55 today.
President Trump announced the reciprocal tariffs in the US on 2 April.
Since then, the ASX 200 gold stock has lifted by more than 20%.
In their June update, Blackwattle Mid Cap Quality fund managers Tim Riordan and Michael Teran said Newmont shares were the largest positive contributor to their fund last month.
They said:
NEM rallied 8% in June, catching up to gold prices which remained close to record highs levels of ~US$3,300/oz.
NEM is the largest, lowest-cost and most diversified gold miner globally.
In the past 6 months, Gold has been a significant beneficiary of uncertainty on President Trump's US tariff policies.
Over the past 12 months, Gold has seen increasing demand from Central Banks as they attempt to diversify their reserves away from US treasuries.
Riordan and Teran said they continued to see solid potential upside for the ASX 200 gold stock.
We continue to see material upside for NEM as an 'enduring high-quality' business and view NEM as the highest quality gold miner globally.
The managers describe 2025 as a "transition year" for Newmont.
This is due to softer production levels, higher investment for the legacy Newcrest portfolio, and sales to improve the overall quality of its asset portfolio.
Riordan and Teran said:
Beyond 2025, we expect NEM to execute on numerous multiyear internal levers to maintain and improve the business quality including organic production expansion, operating cost reductions, material debt reduction & further capital returns.
This should allow NEM to deliver a higher quality, lower cost, diversified asset base in 2026-2027.
