US markets rise marginally, April 16-20

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.42% to 24,462.94 and the S&P 500 Index rose 0.52% to 2,670.14.

Alcoa posted the largest gain, surging $5.05 per share to $60.01. The company reported net income of US$150 million, or US80¢ per share, in the first quarter of 2018. By contrast, the company posted a net loss of US$196 million, or US$1.06 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2017. Alcoa ended the quarter on March 31 with a cash balance of US$1.2 billion, which is down US$162 million sequentially, but up US$392 million year-on-year.

The company — a global leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminum products — is also benefitting from a recent 10% import tariff on aluminum imposed by the U.S. government on many countries, including China and Russia, and more recently, from U.S. government sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs. One of them, Oleg Deripaska, has a controlling interest in aluminum giant Rusal and its parent company En+ Group.

Aluminum prices jumped to US$2,500 per tonne during the trading week, up 20%, in the biggest five-day gain in three decades.

AngloGold Ashanti shares fell US20¢ to US$9.16. The gold miner announced that CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan is stepping down after five years at the helm and a total of 18 years with the company. He is leaving AngloGold at the end of August to become CEO of Vedanta Resources PLC. Venkatakrishnan became CEO in May 2013, after which the gold price fell by nearly a third. Under his leadership, the company lowered all-in sustaining costs 16%, cut overhead expenses by two-thirds and trimmed debt by one-third. AngloGold also met or exceeded its market guidance for five years in a row.

Iron ore producer Vale was the most heavily traded stock and rose US88¢ to US$14 per share. The company reported that its total iron ore output fell 4.9% year-on-year to 81.95 million tonnes during the first quarter of 2018, mainly due to heavy rains. The company reaffirmed its earlier 2018 production guidance of 390 million tonnes.