Market news: U.S. Markets

U.S. stock markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 22, and many Americans marked the occasion with a shopping spree. According to the National Retail Federation, 89 million Americans shopped online and in stores on Black Friday, up from 86 million in 2011. Markets were also more buoyant, with the S&P 500 Index recording its second-best week of the year. The index rose 3.6% to finish the shortened trading week at 1,409.15, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.4% to close at 13,009.68. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index advanced 5.23% to 174.34.

Molycorp surged 41%, or US$2.49, to end the trading week at US$8.62 per share after news that two of its executives — including CEO Mark Smith and a director — had purchased shares in the company. Molycorp’s shares have struggled this year owing to lower-than-expected prices for rare earths, and fell sharply two weeks ago when management said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the company’s public disclosures.

Shares of Agrium advanced US$4.22 to US$101.80 after the fertilizer giant said that it remains committed to its “highly successful integrated strategy,” and that shareholder Jana’s attempt to run its own board of directors “is almost certain” to fail. “Jana has been trying for over six months to obtain support for its idea that Agrium should spin off or sell its retail operations,” president and CEO Mike Wilson said in a statement. “Agrium’s shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected Jana’s ideas.”

Cliffs Natural Resources dropped US$3.48 to US$31.23 per share after announcing adjustments to its 2013 operating plan. The company said that it would delay the second-phase expansion plan at its Bloom Lake mine in Quebec and idle a portion of its production at its Northshore Mining operation in Minnesota and Empire mine in Michigan.

Shares of MAG Silver were down US$1.03 to US$10.20 per share after Mexican media reported that landholders from the community of Benito Juarez had voted to expel the company from its Cinco de Mayo polymetallic property in Chihuahua state, and ban mining for a century.

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