Dow Jones down, S&P 500 up, July 9-13

Rising discord between the U.S. and its major trading partners Canada, Europe and China put pressure on some stocks, while the rising U.S. dollar put pressure on gold. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.30% to 25,019.41, while the S&P 500 Index rose 1.50% to 2,801.31. Spot gold fell US$13.50 per oz., or 1.08%, to finish the trading week at US$1,241.00 per oz. gold.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan fell US71¢ to US$16.80 per share. Under a non-binding agreement announced mid-week between Rio Tinto and Inalum, Indonesia’s state-owned mining company, Inalum will pay US$350 million to Freeport-McMoRan to increase its stake in Grasberg. The deal is part of a larger agreement under which Rio Tinto plans to sell its entire interest in the gold-copper mine to the Indonesian government. If the agreement goes through, Inalum’s stake in Grasberg will rise to 51% — up from 9.3% — leaving Freeport with a 49% stake in the mine. Last year Indonesia introduced a requirement that all mines in the country must be majority owned by the government. In a press release, Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson thanked Rio Tinto for its 20-year-long partnership and noted that “through this transaction, the government will achieve its ownership objectives in a manner that preserves the long-term value for FCX shareholders and the people of Indonesia through 2041.”

Pretium Resources moved 5.3% higher to US$8.53 per share after the company reported its Brucejack mine in northern B.C. achieved steady production. Brucejack produced 111,340 oz. gold in the second quarter, bringing production in the first six months of the year to 187,029 oz. gold. Pretium forecasts Brucejack will deliver 200,000 to 220,000 oz. in the second half of the year, bringing total 2018 gold production to 387,000 to 407,000 ounces. For the second quarter, Pretium reported mill feed grade of 14.9 grams gold per tonne, a 97.7% gold recovery rate and 2,604 tonnes per day ore milled.

Eldorado Gold rose 2.9% to US$1.08. The company strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Philip Yee as executive vice-president and chief financial officer. George Burns, Eldorado’s president and CEO, said Yee will help re-establish annual gold production of 600,000 oz. by 2021.