U.S. markets gain on jobs data, April 28-May 2

U.S. markets finished April strong, with all three major indexes posting gains for the period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 149 points to 16,512.89 points, the S&P 500 Index gained 16 points to 1,881.14 points and the Nasdaq in turn secured 32 points to finish up at 4,123.90 points for the period. 

The renewed strength was largely attributable to a surprise on the upside on the jobs market. Analysts called the announcement of 288,000 new jobs in the U.S. a “blowout” number, beating the consensus forecast of 210,000. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.3% — its lowest since before the 2008 recession. 

While markets rode high on jobs numbers, U.S. Silica Holdings rode high on the wave of U.S. shale gas. The company produces shale gas sand, whose demand from horizontal drilling has surged in recent years. Already up 32% year-to-date, the company’s stock was up 14% for the period to US$46.73. The latest surge came on the back of first-quarter results that showed demand rising 45% year-over-year to 1.3 million tonnes, which translated into revenues rising 47% year-over-year and profits rising 6% year-over-year to US34¢ per share. The company expects demand will grow by 25%, and is adding to its production capacity in anticipation of demand rising until 2021.  

Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources was the period’s most actively traded mining stock, with 106.1 million shares changing hands. The stock rose 10% to finish the period at US$4.63 and the company reported earnings of US7¢ per share for the first quarter, although the consensus forecast was a US58¢-per-share loss. This time last year the company reported a US47¢-per-share loss.

Golden Minerals was the period’s worst-performer, losing 16% of its share value to fall to US65¢. The drop came after a $5.7-million net loss  in the quarter compared to a $6.3-million net loss  in first-quarter 2013.

Peabody Energy saw its shares climb 82¢ to US$18.82 for the period, despite a suit being brought to courts in Europe by the World Wildlife Fund. The WWF is suing Peabody for false advertising as it claims the company’s recent marketing campaign incorrectly portrays burning coal as an environmentally friendly way to solve the developing world’s energy issues.

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