Despite the shortened trading week, market volatility increased as uncertainty lingered following the passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill” and ahead of anticipated tariff announcements from the US administration.

In the Weekly Market Digest, Investors were rightly concerned about the potential for the legislation to add US$3.4 trillion to an already ballooning US national debt, which supported precious metals and the equities levered to them. 

The Exploration Insights portfolio had a positive week but underperformed the benchmarks for precious and base metal equities. Top performers included a cash-flowing royalty generator, which hit a new 52-week high, while a gold-antimony play in eastern Australia upgraded its ticker in Canada.

In Stock Talk, I am adding a US nickel-copper-PGE play for its grade and scale. A grassroots copper explorer in the Yukon generated more drill targets from a gravity survey, and a prospect generator in Quebec added more ground to its gold play. Among last week’s laggards was a copper explorer in the Philippines, which closed a capital raise.