The losses, however, were modest and the Nasdaq actually finished slightly positive on the day. Investors dumped commodities and U.S. Treasuries on the session while the U.S. Dollar rose.
Volume remained well-below 3-month averages despite a spate of earnings reports released on Tuesday after the close and prior to Wednesday's opening bell. Volatility expectations rose on the session despite only small losses for the Dow and S&P 500, which remain near all-time highs.
Related: Earnings Expectations for the Week of July 22
Major Averages
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 15,541.
The S&P 500 lost around 6 points, or 0.38 percent, to finish at 1,686.
The Nasdaq added less than a point, or 0.01 percent, to 3,580.
New Home Sales
New home sales rose for a third consecutive month in June, up 8.3 percent to 497,000 from 459,000 in the previous month. This came in ahead of consensus estimates which expected new home sales to be 483,000.
Commodities
Prices for crude oil were lower on Wednesday. At last check, NYMEX crude futures were down around 2 percent to $105.15. Brent contracts had lost 1.26 percent and were last trading at $107.05. Natural gas fell 1.20 percent on the day to $3.70.
Precious metals were also lower on the session. Near the close of equities, COMEX gold futures had lost a little better than 1 percent to $1,319.30 while silver was down 0.86 percent to $20.08. Copper lost 0.44 percent on the day and was last trading at $3.1840.
Bonds
Long-term U.S. Treasury prices fell sharply on the session. Heading into the closing bell, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: TLT) was down 1.25 percent to $107.54. The fall in prices pushed yields up on Wednesday.
Yields for U.S. Treasuries were as follo! ws on Wednesday afternoon: The yield on the 2-Year Note was 0.35 percent while the 5-Year Note was yielding 1.38 percent. The 10-Year Note yield was last at 2.58 percent and the 30-Year Bond was yielding 3.65 percent.
Currencies
The U.S. Dollar was moderately higher on the session. Late in the day, the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE: UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, was up 0.41 percent to $22.28.
The closely watched EUR/USD pair fell 0.29 percent on the day. Other movers included the USD/JPY, which rose 0.72 percent and the AUD/USD, which fell better than 1.50 percent.
Related: Earnings Scheduled for July 24, 2013
Volatility and Volume
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose again on Wednesday despite only modest losses for the S&P 500. Late in the day, the VIX was trading up a little less than 6 percent to 13.38.
Volume remained well below average with around 96.5 million SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) shares trading hands compared to a 3-month daily average of 96.5 million.
Stock Movers
Shares of VMWare (NYSE: VMW) had soared around 18 percent heading into the close after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings results.
Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) jumped more than 10 percent near the close after the company's second-quarter earnings results.
Shares of video game-publisher Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) were up around 8 percent on Wednesday after the company released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Tuesday.
Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI) rose almost 8 percent on the session after the company agreed to acquire Maidenform Brands (NYSE: MFB) for $23.50 per share in cash, or around $575 million. Maidenform shares traded up almost 23 percent on the news.
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) rose more than 10 percent late in the day after the company's second-quarter results topped Wall Str! eet expec! tations.
Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL) after beating quarterly estimates and raising its outlook for fiscal 2013.
Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT) lost almost 19 percent on the session after the company said it won't file a NDA for its drug, eteplirsen, until the first half of next year.
Polycom (NASDAQ: PLCM) lost 15 percent after the company's president and CEO resigned after an audit committee found irregularities in his expense submissions.
Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) fell 15 percent after the chip maker's fiscal second-quarter financial results.
Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) was lower by around 7 percent in the wake of the company's fiscal Q2 results and lowered full-year guidance.
Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) fell almost 7 percent after reporting disappointing quarterly earnings results.
Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) traded down a little more than 2 percent after reporting a 66 percent decline in its fourth-quarter earnings. The stock recouped most of its earlier losses in afternoon trading.
(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Hot Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)
IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Christopher Barker]
Although I have not shed my long-standing contention that Yamana Gold offers one of the more deeply discounted vehicles for long-term gold exposure, lately my outlook for IAMGOLD has turned particularly bullish. With a looming spin-off of a 10% to 20% stake in the company's reliably profitable Niobec niobium mine, and the recent sale of its interest in a pair of high-cost gold operations in Ghana for $667 million, IAMGOLD finds itself in terrific financial shape to execute an aggressive $1.2 billion expansion imitative at existing operations.
Considering the $1.6 billion net asset value (after tax) that IAMGOLD recently assessed for the Niobec mine alone, and a presumed hoard of more than $1.2 billion (in cash, cash equivalents, and gold bullion held for investment), at a market capitalization of $6.9 billion I find extreme comfort in the market's resulting valuation for IAMGOLD's 15.2 million ounces of attributable gold reserves.
Hot Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)
First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Goodwin]
The shares closed at $88.19, down $1.1, or 1.23%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $77.08 billion. About the company: Siemens AG manufactures a wide range of industrial and consumer products. The Company builds locomotives, traffic control systems, automotive electronics, and engineers electrical power plants. Siemens also provides public and private communications networks, computers, building control systems, medical equipment, and electrical components. The Company operates worldwide.
Top 5 Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)
Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in mining, milling, processing, and marketing molybdenum products in the United States and Canada. The company?s principal properties include the Thompson Creek Mine and mill in Idaho; a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania; and a joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, mill, and roasting facility in British Columbia. It also holds interests in development projects comprising the Davidson molybdenum property and the Berg copper-molybdenum-silver property located in northern British Columbia; the Howard?s Pass property, a lead and zinc project situated in the Yukon territory-northwest territories border; and the Maze Lake property, a gold project located in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. The company produces molybdenum products, primarily molybdic oxide and ferromolybdenum, as well as soluble technical oxide, pure molybdenum tri-oxide, and high purity molybdenum disulfide. As o f December 31, 2010, its consolidated recoverable proven and probable ore reserves totaled 462.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum in the Thompson Creek Mine and the Endako Mine. The company was formerly known as Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. and changed its name to Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. in May 2007. Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Christopher Barker]
My recent survey of bargain-basement stock valuations among gold miners identified Thompson Creek Metals as a glaring opportunity for value investors. The miner sports two world-class molybdenum mines with 534 million pounds of reserves between them, along with an array of attractive development projects in the pipeline. Foremost among those is the Mt. Milligan copper and gold project, where Thompson Creek expects to launch itself into the ranks of intermediate gold producers with production commencing in late 2013.
With 6 million ounces of gold reserves, accompanied by 2.1 billion pounds of copper, Mt. Milligan will deliver about 262,100 ounces of gold per year for the first six years of a 22-year mine life, averaging 194,500 ounces annually over that entire span. Although 25% of that gold production is already spoken for through a gold stream agreement with Royal Gold (Nasdaq: RGLD ) , Thompson Creek Metals is sure to enjoy a powerful cash-flow explosion.
Hot Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Newmont Mining Corporation(Holding Company)
Newmont Mining Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and production of gold and copper properties. The company?s assets or operations are located in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico. As of December 31, 2009, it had proven and probable gold reserves of approximately 93.5 million equity ounces and an aggregate land position of approximately 27,500 square miles. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Hot Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Goldcorp Incorporated(GG)
Goldcorp Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Smith]
Although its name does little to denote this, Goldcorp is a well-positioned silver play for 2011, according to the analysts we surveyed.
“The name is one that people tend to think of it as gold, but it's in the top 20 of silver producers globally with about 13 million ounces a year ,” says Peter Sorrentino of Huntington Funds.
Morningstar analyst Min Tang-Varner recently raised her fair value estimate for Goldcorp by $12 a share to $48 after the company reported a 28 per cent rise in revenue for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with the year before.
This, despite 4 per cent decline gold production, as revenue received a boost from $1,239/oz realized gold prices and $19.15/oz silver prices.
Tang-Varner tells investors that the reduction of Goldcorp's cash cost by $100/oz from the prior quarter to $260/oz due to higher silver, copper and zinc production and the run-up in their prices, was “rather extraordinary.”
Sorrentino says Goldcorp is a stock that investors would be “wise to consider” if they were looking for a name that would be discovered suddenly as a major silver play, without feeling that they were overpaying for it.
Goldcorp also prices everything that it does in Canadian dollars, which should reduce currency risks for investors in Canada.
- [By Christopher Barker]
Every ship needs an anchor, and for gold investors looking to navigate the admittedly rough seas of the gold mining industry, I can think of no greater anchor than Goldcorp. With the important caveat that some of the company's substantial challenges faced during 2012 could present further selling pressure in early 2013 as forward production guidance takes a bit of a haircut, I agree with Credit Suisse analyst Anita Soni that any such weakness may present a meaningful buying opportunity. I won't go into great detail here, since investors can access my premium research report on Goldcorp for further discussion of the substantial long-term investment opportunity in the shares of this quality producer.
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