The conclusion of spring across the Northern Hemisphere typically signals the arrival of graduation ceremonies. However, this season’s most notable “graduation” occurred on Wall Street, where SpaceX finalized its shift from a private entity to a NASDAQ-quoted giant after a quarter-century. The company commands a staggering valuation of roughly US$2.2 trillion, “supported” by revenue multiples exceeding 100x projections.

This market capitalization nearly matches the aggregate value of the global mining industry. It seems the market occasionally overlooks the reality that the hardware for rockets, satellites, and digital infrastructure is fundamentally rooted in metals extracted from the ground.

I have segmented the Weekly Market Digest across a two-week period. Market volatility spiked during the opening week, driven by concerns that a robust labor market—exceeding consensus expectations—would leave the Federal Reserve with little reason to loosen monetary policy. This broader equity sell-off led to a disproportionately steep correction in resource-focused ETFs relative to their underlying commodities.

During the most recent week, US inflation figures reached a three-year high, heightening the likelihood of a rate increase before year-end, with energy costs as the main catalyst. Nevertheless, late-week reports suggested a prospective US-Iran agreement could facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by next week, which pressured oil prices downward.

While this development will likely influence Monday's market open more significantly than Friday's close, resource equities have already shown resilience, outperforming the broader market despite inconsistent commodity trends. In particular, industrial metals outperformed precious metals.

The Exploration Insights portfolio declined in the first week but still outperformed the major precious and base metal equity ETFs. The portfolio rebounded last week and outperformed the major precious-metal equity ETF, although it slightly lagged the base-metal benchmarks.  

In Stock Talk, as an M&A transaction for a precious-metal explorer in Finland closes, I will be adding a copper explorer/developer in southern Perú. A Kazakhstan-focused copper-gold explorer reports an exceptional drill hole, as does another in the Yukon. A copper explorer in eastern Perú provides an update while exercising a low-cost option to explore in Sweden. A REE developer in Chile has had its permits approved after a few years of wrangling. A grassroots precious metal explorer and prospect generator provides an update on its activities in Nevada. Finally, a gold-antimony explorer in Australia increased its exposure to investors.