Cassiar Gold Corp. (TSXV: GLDC, OTCQX: CGLCF)
Revitalizing the Cassiar Gold District in British Columbia, Canada
In April, the U.S. stock market witnessed its worst performance since 2024, with 10 out of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 recording their largest monthly percentage declines of the year, painting a grim picture. Amid the downturn, however, miners and utilities emerged as rare bright spots.
In terms of indices, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell by 4.2% and 4.4% respectively this month, marking their first monthly declines since October last year. Additionally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 5%, marking the largest decline since September 2022. Reasons for the indices’ decline include stubbornly high inflation suppressing expectations of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, mixed quarterly earnings performances, and heightened tensions in the Middle East exacerbating market volatility.
Looking at sectors, real estate and healthcare led the decline with drops of 8.6% and 5.2% respectively. Additionally, mega-cap tech stocks in the U.S. market, including the well-known Magnificent Seven, saw significant declines in April, dragging down the information technology and communication services sectors by 5.5% and 2.2% respectively. The consumer discretionary sector fell by 4.4%.
The utilities sector of the S&P 500 rose by 1.6% in April, being the only sector to register an increase. Among the top-performing stocks were NextEra Energy, Inc.（NYSE:NEE）, Southern Co (NYSE: SO), Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE: D), and NRG Energy Inc (NYSE: NRG), with price increases ranging from 4% to 8%.
Here is the performance of the 11 sector ETFs of the S&P 500 in April:
| Sector | April 2024 performance |
| Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) | 2.06% |
| Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) | 0.01% |
| Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) | -1.11% |
| Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLI) | -3.23% |
| Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) | -3.68% |
| Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) | -3.85% |
| Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) | -4.13% |
| Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) | -4.24% |
| Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) | -4.78% |
| Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) | -4.85% |
| Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) | -7.83% |
In the industry sector, among the 25 industry ETFs offered by BlackRock’s iShares, only 5 showed gains in April, with mining posting broad gains, and stocks in silver, copper, and gold extraction performing well. On a stock level, Pan American Silver (NYSE: PAAS) saw its stock price rise by over 20%, Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM) by 14%, and Anglo American (OTCQX: AAUKF) by over 40%.
Below is the performance of industry ETFs:
| ETF Name | Performance |
| iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF (NYSE:SLVP) | 12.11% |
| iShares Copper and Metals Mining ETF (NYSE:COPX) | 9.50% |
| iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:RING) | 5.93% |
| iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF (NYSE:PICK) | 2.81% |
| iShares MSCI Global Energy Producers ETF (NYSE:FILL) | 2.46% |
| iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE:ITA) | -1.16% |
| iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE:IEO) | -1.37% |
| iShares Residential and Multisector Real Estate ETF (NYSE:REZ) | -1.66% |
| iShares Lithium Miners and Producers ETF (NYSE:ILIT) | -3.30% |
| iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchange ETF (NYSE:IAI) | -3.74% |
| iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF (NYSE:IYG) | -3.88% |
| iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (NYSE:IGM) | -4.37% |
| iShares Semiconductor ETF (NYSE:SOXX) | -4.40% |
| iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF (NYSE:IHF) | -4.79% |
| iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (NYSE:IAK) | -4.85% |
| iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (NYSE:IAT) | -5.11% |
| iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSE:IHE) | -5.38% |
| iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF (NYSE:IEZ) | -5.45% |
| iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF (NYSE:REM) | -5.57% |
| iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (NYSE:IHI) | -5.75% |
| iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF (NYSE:WOOD) | -6.20% |
| iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (NYSE:IGV) | -6.76% |
| iShares U.S. Digital Infrastructure and Real Estate ETF (NYSE:IDGT) | -7.12% |
| iShares Biotechnology ETF (NYSE:IBB) | -7.23% |
| iShares U.S. Transportation ETF (NYSE:IYT) | -8.34% |
| iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (NYSE:ITB) | -9.60% |
