Lions Gate ushers in blockbuster season with growth; gold prospers

With the summer blockbusters starting to roll out regularly (did everybody see Iron Man 3 yet?), it seems appropriate that one of the bigger discussion points in the stock market the last day or two has been the continued success of Lions Gate (LGF), a studio that has benefited from box office success of its own with the hit Hunger Games franchise.

Today, their stock went up 8% after Lions Gate announced much better earnings than expected on Thursday, leading many to brag about having had the foresight to make a long-term play on Lions Gate’s stock while many were cashing in after a short stay.

Lions Gate has to be smiling at the thought of three more Hunger Games films (the third one is always split into two movies these days, necessary or not), especially now that series star Jennifer Lawrence has won an Oscar for Best Actress (in the excellent Silver Linings Playbook) and climbed into Hollywood’s upper echelon. They hit the jackpot with Lawrence, and investors have hit the jackpot with Lions Gate.

Gold climbs up a bit

Many have speculated that the up and down act that stocks have been performing, as well as better bond yields, have led to a slight resurgence for gold, which is back above $1,400 an ounce again for the first time in weeks.

You’ll remember that gold plummeted to a two-year low back in April, with a mass exodus of traders as everyone rushed to sell due to concerns over China’s growth. For now, those concerns have taken a back seat and many are hoping that more gains are in the future for everyone’s favorite precious metal.

Gold miners saw increases, with Randgold up 4%, AngloGold Ashanti up 7%, and Kinross Gold up 7%, while Direxion Gold Miners hopped up by 15%, which only added to the good feelings all around. How long will those feelings last? We’ll see.