US markets fell during Nov. 28 – Dec. 2 trading week

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 404.67 points, or 1.2%, to 33,942.36, and the S&P 500 lost 30.31 points or 0.8%, over the week to 3,995.81.

Leading value gainer for the week was Consol Energy, which closed US$6.73 higher at US$75.30. Despite coming down from recent highs, the stock is still rallying over 229% over the 12-month frame as its main product, thermal coal, achieved and remained in record pricing territory. The stock continues to benefit from the increased reliance on thermal coal due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has amped up natural gas demand amid supply constraints, forcing even advanced nations such as Germany to dial back steps it had taken to reduce its reliance on the fossil fuel. In its third-quarter results release, Consol told investors it was bullish on exports to India, where the company’s coal is being burned in the industrial sector.

The week’s top percentage gainer Gatos Silver closed 14% or US58¢ higher at US$4.15 per share. The company failed to file its 2021 annual report, and subsequent quarterly financial statements this year. The issue started with weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting related to errors in reserve reporting for its Los Gatos project in Mexico that were detected in January. Gatos now says it expects to file its 2021 annual report with the SEC by year-end and the missing quarterly reports by the end of the first quarter of 2023. On Jan. 26, Gatos reported a potential reduction ranging from 30% to 50% of the metal content of the Cerro Los Gatos mineral reserve; therefore, “the 2020 Technical Report should not be relied upon.” The resource overestimate could result in a credit facility default.

Brazil-based multinational Vale saw the most shares change hands during the trading week at 158 million. On Nov. 29, PT Vale Indonesia said it expected to complete construction by 2025 of a high-pressure acid leaching plant to produce nickel minerals used in electric vehicle batteries. Meanwhile, Vale’s biggest business segment, iron ore, has dropped to 227 million tonnes year-to-date, about a 1.9% decline year on year. This is mainly owing to the 6% drop in production reported in the year’s first quarter due to the heavy rainfall in Minas Gerais in January that halted the Southern and Southeastern Systems operations. Vale has recently cut its production guidance for 2022 to 310-320 million tonnes of iron ore compared with production of almost 316 million tonnes in 2021. Vale still aims to reach 400 million tonnes per year in the long term.