March has been a rough month for the Australian share market as a whole. Since the beginning of the month, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has dropped by a nasty 6.4% or so. That's what a destabilising war, which brought an oil shock, can do to markets. But let's talk about one ASX 200 share that has done even worse than that. That ASX 200 share is gold stock Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM).
Newmont stock has had a shocking month. This US-based gold miner closed at $187.22 a share on 2 March, not far from its January all-time record high of $190.91. But it has been all downhill since then. At $154.69 (at the time of writing), Newmont stock has fallen a horrid 17.4% from that 2 March price. That includes the nasty 4.35% drop we've seen over just today's session.
Newmont was a company that, until this month, had seen one of its best runs in years. Over 2025, the gold miner saw its stock increase by approximately 150%, with the first two months of 2026 adding another 23.9%.
This ascent largely mirrored the price of gold itself. Gold had been increasing in value steadily over 2025 and into 2026, hitting a new record high of over US$5,600 an ounce in January. So it was no real surprise to see Newmont shares fare so well.
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Newmont stock collapses on lower demand for gold
However, the tables have well and truly turned this March. Gold prices have been hit hard by the onset of the US-Iran war. The precious metal has lost about 10% of its value since the onset of hostilities against Iran, and is trading at about US$5,040 an ounce today. With this fall in the gold price, it's no surprise to see Newmont stock follow suit. As a gold miner, Newmont's profitability is highly correlated to the price of gold itself.
This plunge in the price of gold is an interesting dynamic. Gold has long been viewed as a safe-haven asset, and has historically seen demand rise when global economic or geopolitical tensions increase. However, this new war has seen the opposite occur.
One possible explanation is that fears of a severe oil shock that could lead to a sharp rise in global inflation are outweighing more generalised geopolitical concerns to dampen demand for gold. Gold is often viewed as an inflation hedge. However, investors often sell down gold if they expect interest rates to rise. Higher interest rates reduce demand for gold, as gold is an investment that pays no interest.
Given that we are already hearing that our own Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) could be considering a steeper interest rate hiking cycle this year due to rising oil prices, this could well be what is happening here. Let's see how Newmont stock fares over the rest of this month.
