Wall Street gains, Oct. 17-21

U.S. equities rose after a brighter outlook for commodities and positive corporate earnings in a number of sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1% to 18,145.71, and the S&P 500 Index moved up 0.4% to 2,141.16. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8% to close at 5,257.40. The spot gold price advanced 1.2% to US$1,265.70 per oz. gold. The December contract for U.S. crude oil added nearly 1% to settle at US$50.85 per barrel.

Hecla Mining shares rose 12.8% to US$5.91 on the back of third-quarter production results. Silver output grew 67% year-over-year to 4.3 million oz., while gold production jumped 20% to 52,126 oz. gold. Lead production increased 14%, while zinc output fell 15%. Silver-equivalent ounces climbed 17% year over year to 10.3 million. Given the strong performance from all its mines, Hecla has increased its 2016 silver guidance from 15.75 million to 16.25 million oz., the highest ever in its 125-year history. At the end of September, the company’s cash, equivalent and short-term investments were US$192 million, up US$33 million from the previous quarter. This includes US$16 million of insurance proceeds for the Troy mine reclamation. Hecla expects to report its third-quarter financials on Nov. 8.

Dominion Diamond edged up 1.7% to US$8.92 per share, after reporting third-quarter production results from its 40% held Diavik diamond mine. Diavik generated 1.54 million carats from 580,000 tonnes on a 100% basis. This represents a 22% year-over-year increase for both tonnes and carats. The higher processing volumes came from higher ore availability, mainly from A-418, which had poor ground conditions a year ago. The higher tonnes led to more diamond production. Dominion’s 40% share amounts to 618,000 carats generated from 233,000 tonnes grading 2.65 carats per tonne. While grade improved 7% from the year-ago quarter, it was below plan due to higher underground dilution. Along with Diavik, Dominion operates the Ekati diamond mine. Both assets are in the Northwest Territories.

Freeport-McMoRan shares closed at US$10.04, up US38¢, as 127.7 million shares changed hands. Freeport agreed to sell its onshore California oil and gas assets to private energy firm Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC for US$742 million.