U.S. markets climb, March 17-21

As Russian President Vladimir Putin signed off on laws completing the country’s annexation of Crimea, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen held her first press conference and indicated that the first rise in interest rates could come in the first half of 2015. In other news, a yearly stress test of U.S. banks concluded that 29 of 30 held enough capital to withstand a severe economic downturn, while data on the U.S. jobs market demonstrated that the number of people filing for unemployment benefits the week before nearly reached a three-month low. After hitting an all-time intraday high of 1,883.97 on March 21, the S&P 500 Index ended the week 1.4% higher at 1,866.52, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5% to 16,302.70. The gold spot price plunged 3.4% — or US$47.30 per oz. — to finish the week at US$1,334.70 per oz., and the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index fell 7.2% to 98.51.

Consol Energy gained US$2.11 to US$40.70 per share. The Pittsburgh-based coal and natural gas company announced that its 45-year-old president Nicholas J. Deluliis would become CEO on May 7, replacing J. Brett Harvey, who will become executive chairman.

Franco-Nevada plunged US$5.70 to US$46.93 per share. The company reported a 2013 fourth-quarter net loss of $80.6 million, or 55¢ per share, which included after-tax impairment charges of $108.1 million. Adjusted net income for the quarter reached $30.5 million, or 21¢ per share. The company reported 69,741 equivalent oz. gold in the fourth quarter, in a 17.5% increase over the fourth quarter of 2012.

Silver Wheaton shares fell US$1.68 to US$25.04 after the streaming company reported a 47% drop in quarterly profit. Net profit dropped to $93.9 million — or 26¢ per share in the quarter ended Dec. 31 — down from $177.7 million, or 50¢ per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue dropped 42% to $167.4 million. The company’s attributable silver-equivalent production climbed 17% to 9.3 million oz., but average realized silver prices dropped 33% to US$21.03 per oz. Silver Wheaton expects attributable production this year of 36 million equivalent oz. silver, including 155,000 oz. gold. 

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