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The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF traded higher Thursday after billionaire George Soros told the Wall Street Journal that he bought gold and gold miners on the back of a more pessimistic view of the global economy.
Fellow billionaire investor Carl Icahn told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday that Soros' bearish bets have merit because the stock market has been artificially boosted by prolonged low interest rates.
The GDX ended the day up about 1.5 percent.
The gold miners ETF has been on a tear this year as investors ran to safe-haven assets in an uncertain global economic climate. The GDX is up nearly 92 percent in 2016, and 40 percent in the last year.
— CNBC's Gina Francolla and Matt Belvedere contributed to this report.