Goldmining stocks are sharply lower in early trading after the precious metal tumbled to a 21-month low at the end of last week, officially entering a bear market.

Friday's sell-off in the yellow metal was triggered as prices broke below long-held technical support during European hours. The move raised expectations that 2013 might mark the end of gold's 12-year bull run.

That sparked a sell-off across goldminers today, despite a slight rebound in the value of bullion, traders and analysts said.

Kingsgate Consolidated was among the worst hit, down 13.2 per cent at $3.03 a share. Australia's largest goldminer by volume, Newcrest Mining, was down 6.4 per cent at $18.28 a share. Other shares affected included Philippines-focused Medusa Mining, down 12.5 per cent at $3.49, and Silver Lake Resources, dropping 11.2 per cent to $1.58.

Gold was trading up 0.2 per cent at $US1483 an ounce. On Friday, spot gold fell 5.4 per cent.