Gold closed at US$1,280 per oz., down US$23.30 per ounce. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index dropped 2.61% to 85.01, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average stayed strong, rising 2% to 23,328.63. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.86% to 2,575.21.
Shares of Martin Marietta rose US$11.59 to US$216.16. In June, the company announced it would acquire Bluegrass Materials for US$1.63 billion. Bluegrass is an aggregates and concrete block producer based in Jacksonville, Florida, that operates several quarries in Georgia and South Carolina. As of an Oct. 19 securities filing, however, the two companies had agreed not to close the deal before Jan. 31, 2018, pending a review by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Martin Marietta saw net sales of building materials rise in the second quarter by 8.8% to US$931.7 million, and yielded a consolidated gross profit of US$274.1 million.
Cloud Peak Energy shares rose 25% to US$4.58. The company posted a second-quarter net loss of US$6.9 million compared to a US$35.3-million gain for the second quarter of 2016. However, since entering office more than half a year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to support struggling coal companies. His latest bid to bolster coal markets comes via Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s proposed plan to subsidize nuclear and coal-based power plants because they make the nation’s power grid more reliable. Perry has said the plan will help prevent power outages like those experienced in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Several former energy panel members have opposed the plan. Cloud Peak plans to announce its third-quarter results on Oct. 26, 2017, after the markets close.
Shares for Harmony Gold fell 12% to US$1.66. On Oct. 19, 2017, the company announced it had entered an agreement with AngloGold Ashanti to acquire Anlgo’sSouth African Moab Khotsong and Great Noligwa uranium and gold mines for US$300 million in cash. Three miners died in August at Harmony’s Kusasalethu gold mine near Carletonville, South Africa, 75 km west of Johannesburg, as the result of an underground mine collapse caused by an earth tremor. The collapse occurred 3,100 metres underground.
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