Traveling, specifically through Peru, has a way of putting both geology and markets into perspective. 

In southern Peru, El Misti, the young stratovolcano towering nearly 6,000 meters above sea level, watches over the nation’s second-largest city, Arequipa, with remarkable calm. In today’s environment of nonstop headlines, geopolitical drama, and traders reacting to every social media post, its stoicism is admirable. 

Unlike global markets, volcanoes at least tend to give some warning signs before they erupt.

In the Weekly Market Digest, positive momentum toward a potential Middle East ceasefire and the possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continued to pressure energy prices. As a consequence, US equity markets continued their advancement.

Lower real US interest rates did not significantly lift precious metals, although the equities levered to them performed much better. 

The leverage inherent in resource equities was also evident in the industrial metal space, where modest moves in the underlying commodities translated into stronger gains in related equity benchmarks. 

The Exploration Insights portfolio was up moderately on average last week, led by the more leveraged gold and copper exploration and development stories. The weaker performers were predominantly grassroots precious- and base-metal explorers.

In Stock Talk, I focus on the pending addition of a private company that plans to supply the domestic US market with various critical minerals. A Quebec-focused grassroots explorer reports its second phase of drilling on a recently discovered gold prospect. Finally, a cash-flowing royalty company generates royalties on porphyry plans in the SW USA with a major base metal producer.