Stock market driven by Donald Trump: Renk, Bitcoin, Barrick Gold, First Nordic Metals

Gold strong, Barrick weak

With the new president, the gold price also seems to have ended its correction. The precious metal was trading at around USD 2,710 yesterday. Will the USD 2,800 per ounce mark fall soon? The chances look good. This is because the measures announced by Trump, such as punitive tariffs, are likely to drive up inflation and the foreseeable trade war could weaken the global economy. This is where gold comes into play as a safe haven.

In this positive environment, Barrick Gold's shares have been among the disappointments in recent months. Barrick's shares have lost around 13% of their value in the past six months. At USD 16, they are trading at the same level as at the beginning of 2024. The complete gold rally of the past year has, therefore, passed it by. Investors can hope for new impetus on February 12, when the gold giant will report on the fourth quarter and full year 2024. Experts expect Barrick to announce new acquisitions to help the share price take off. This could mark the beginning of a new wave of buying by the major producers. In doing so, they will likely favour projects in regions with legal certainty. First Nordic Metals, for example, has such projects.

First Nordic Metals: Exciting projects and a strong partner

Gold projects in Scandinavia are not often found on the stock market. But that is exactly what the First Nordic Metals share offers. Formed from a merger in early 2024, the share has performed positively since then. It is also traded on German stock exchanges and is currently trading at EUR 0.25. In addition to the positive environment for gold, the case for rising prices is supported by an extensive drilling program currently underway. The listing on the Swedish stock exchange Nasdaq First North Growth is also expected to take place in the first quarter. Additionally Agnico Eagle acquired 13.3% of the Company in 2024 which shows solid support from one of the world’s best gold miners.
The flagship project of First Nordic Metals is the Barsele gold project in northern Sweden. This is operated in a project-level joint venture with Agnico Eagle (Agnico’s shareholding mentioned above is in addition to this and at the company level). Immediately surrounding Barsele, the Company is the 100%-owner of 100,000 hectares in the immediate vicinity of the project, on the Gold Line Belt. In Finland, First Nordic Metals owns the Oijärvi project which host a maiden high-grade gold-silver resource that has only seen very limited drilling. Drilling results to date include 11 m at 23 g/t Au and 126 g/t Ag over 102 m.
The current focus is clearly on Sweden. The Company is currently completing a very extensive base-of-till (BoT) drilling program on four high priority multi-kilometric targets (similar size or larger than Barsele). The Klippen target and Nippas target have been worked on. Each of the four target areas will be tested with 100-150 holes (gold assays soon to come). BoT drilling is an effective method of obtaining high-quality bedrock samples in areas with glacial till cover. Diamond core drilling, which is also planned for 2025, can then be carried out efficiently on this basis.
Important for shareholders: First Nordic Metals successfully completed a capital increase as recently as November. A private placement generated gross proceeds of CAD 11.5 million.

Renk: Is another 50% possible?

The armaments sector is also one of the winners of the Trump presidency. Among other things, the US President has called for NATO countries to invest 5% of their GDP in armaments – currently, it is 2%, and even this is not met by all. And fundamentally, Trump will withdraw from international conflicts and make NATO take more responsibility. Accordingly, defense spending will have to increase. While Rheinmetall's share price is marching from one all-time high to the next, Renk was unable to convince in 2024. However, the share price has picked up momentum since the beginning of the new year. It has since gained around 25% and is trading at just under EUR 23. However, it is still quite a way off its high of around EUR 37 shortly after the IPO. Hauck Aufhäuser also sees the Renk share as fairly valued at this level. The analysts recommend buying the Company, which is particularly known for its armoured transmissions, with a price target of EUR 35.

The shares of First Nordic Metals are facing an exciting year in 2025. The news flow from the drilling program and the Nasdaq First North Growth listing should be positive drivers. Furthermore, takeover speculation might add to the momentum. In any case, the environment for gold should remain positive. Whether Barrick will benefit from this remains to be seen. Renk currently has a lot of momentum. The stock has further catch-up potential within its peer group.