US equities end lower, July 25-29

U.S. markets ended lower during the last week of July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.8% to finish at 18,432.24 and the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.07% to 2,173.60. Spot gold climbed US$28.30 per oz. to US$1,350.40, and the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index advanced 6.79% to 110.78.

Shares of Teck Resources were up US$2.35 to US$15.93. The company’s profit attributable to shareholders in the second quarter reached $15 million, or 3¢ per share, compared with $63 million, or 11¢ per share in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted profit attributable to shareholders was $3 million, or 1¢ per share, compared with $79 million, or 14¢ per share in 2015. President and CEO Donald Lindsay said “we are starting to see some positive changes in the direction of zinc and steelmaking coal prices,” adding that management is “pleased with the performance of our operations, which have continued to reduce costs while maintaining production volumes,” and that, through recent transactions, “we now have no substantial bond maturities for five years.”

Consol Energy, one of the largest independent natural gas companies in the U.S., said it would employ a two-rig program in the second half of 2016 “since expected rates of return nicely exceed our cost of capital, while supporting our free cash flow plan and liquidity goals.” (The company stopped drilling new wells last year.) Consol also reported second-quarter results, saying it had driven down E&P unit costs by 18% — compared to the previous year’s quarter — generated US$46 million in organic free cash flow from continuing operations, paid down US$390 million in debt and increased estimated ultimate recoveries in its Marcellus Shale Green Hill field to 3 to 3.5 billion cubic feet equivalent. Consol reported an adjusted net loss from continuing operations of US$49 million, or US21¢ per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was US$136 million, compared to $138 million in the year-earlier quarter. The company’s shares rose US$2.34 to US$19.38.

Cloud Peak Energy, one of the largest U.S. coal producers, jumped 33.2% to US$3.41 per share. Colin Marshall, Cloud Peak’s president and CEO, said that “increasing natural gas prices and a warm summer are improving the outlook towards the coal industry.”