US indexes close lower during May 1-5 trading week

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 423.78 points or 1.2% to 33,674.38 and the S&P 500 lost 33.23 points or 0.8% over the week to 4,136.25.

Consol Energy was among the top value gainers this week after releasing on May 2 its March quarter operating and financial results. The issuer gained US$3.17 to close the week at US$62.51 on a volume of 4.4 million shares changing hands. Consol reported strong earnings, as thermal coal prices increased, which, along with robust operating performance helped lift profit. Consol’s strong results came primarily from improvements at the Pennsylvania Mining Complex (PAMC), the company’s main asset. The complex is now at operating at its full five longwall capacity, boosting revenue and driving margins as fixed costs per ton are leveraged downward. Consol also increased throughput at the wholly owned Marine Terminal, increasing inbound capacity, and increasing its allocation of sales to the export market.

Among the top percentage gainers this week was South Africa-based DRD Gold. The stock gained 22.5% to close at US$13.11. The company released its first-quarter results on May 8, highlighting a 4% production increase of 42,728 oz. gold over the prior period. The company reported a 52% rise in adjusted EBITDA quarter-over-quarter at US$27.5 million, partially reflecting lower all-in sustaining cost of US$1,285 per oz. DRD specializes in recovering gold from processing mine dumps and tailings dams. The Ergo and the Knights plant in Germiston, with a combined capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per month, comprise arguably the world’s largest gold surface tailings retreatment facility. Both plants deposit onto the Brakpan/Withok tailings storage facility with a monthly capacity of 2 million tonnes.

The week’s most active issuer was Vale, which saw 101.7 million shares change hands to close the week US51¢ higher at US$13.90. Vale’s incoming chair, Mark Cutifani, said late April he wanted to the company’s newly formed base metals business unit to grow profit margins while preparing the market for the unit’s initial public offering. The former chief executive of Anglo American will take up the role at Vale in July. Vale expects to announce the sale of a 10% stake in its base metals unit in the first half of this year, an executive told analysts in a conference call in February. The unit is estimated to be worth nearly US$2.5 billion. Vale Base Metals would have nickel mines in Canada and Indonesia, copper mines in Brazil, and interests in cobalt and platinum group metals.