Gold and base metal companies made gains while their coal and energy counterparts lost ground on U.S. markets over the report period Nov. 8-14. The overall trend was up, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broad-based S&P 500 posting gains. DJIA climbed 110.94 points to close at 10,697.17, while the S&P gained 10.95 points to close at 1,233.76.
Alcoa was the most active resource-oriented stock on U.S. markets, gaining US67 to US$26.61 over the session. Gold companies also remained in the spotlight as various parties vied to become the world’s largest producer of the yellow metal.
Newmont Mining was the most actively traded gold stock, up US66 at US$43.67. Barrick Gold has formally submitted its bid to acquire Placer Dome, and for the time being, Placer’s management is telling shareholders to hang tight while the company figures out what to do next. Placer shares were up US64 at US$20.34.
Coal companies stood out in the recent trading session, with most taking a hit, despite impressive third-quarter numbers. Investors that bought coal producers this year made considerable gains, with the Dow Jones U.S. Coal Index up 75% this year alone. But the index fell 9.4% in October, for various reasons including the lack of rail capacity in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private-sector coal company, shed US$6.74 to settle at US$73.24, even though its recent third-quarter earnings of US$113.3 million were up a whopping 161% over the comparable period a year earlier.
Arch Coal posted record earnings in its latest quarter, but lost US$8.03 to close at US$68.58. The company is the second largest coal producer in the U.S., and provides 7% of the nation’s electricity.
Consol Energy, the largest underground coal producer in the U.S., fell US$5.05 to US$55.50 over the session.
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