US markets climb, Sept. 28-Oct. 2

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.87% to finish the week at 27,682.81 and the S&P 500 Index climbed 1.52% to 3,348.44. Spot gold increased US$37.60 per oz., or 2.02%, to US$1,898.80 per ounce.

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs rose US$1.15 to US$7.03 per share. Cleveland-Cliffs is buying “substantially all” of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal’s operations in the United States in a US$1.4 billion deal that will make it North America’s largest flat-rolled steel producer. Under the transaction, Cleveland-Cliffs will pay about US$505 million in cash and US$873 million in common and non-voting preferred shares. The boards of both companies support the deal and Cleveland-Cliffs expects the transaction will close in the fourth quarter of this year. “Once completed, Cleveland-Cliffs will be the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, number two in overall steelmaking in North America (behind Nucor), with combined shipments of approximately 17 million tons in 2019, and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America, with 28 million tonnes of annual pellet capacity,” David Gagliano of BMO Capital Markets said in a research note.

Trecora Resources rose 55¢ to US$6.59 per share. The company completed the sale of its shares in Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co., a Saudi Arabian joint stock company, for gross proceeds of US$70.5 million. According to Trecora, the funds will be used to pay down debt and enable the company to achieve its target leverage ratio of 1.5 to 2 times adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations, while building significant liquidity for future deployment. “With the completion of this transaction, we have simplified our company’s structure to pure speciality chemicals and positioned ourselves to generate growth,” the company’s president and CEO, Pat Quarles, stated in a statement.

Shares of Turquoise Hill Resources fell by 2¢, finishing the trading week at 81¢ per share. The company announced plans to consolidate its issued and outstanding common shares by a ratio of one post-consolidation share for every ten pre-consolidation shares. The consolidation will be effective from Oct. 23 and was approved by the company’s shareholders as part of a special resolution on July 24 at its annual and special meeting of shareholders. The principal reason for the consolidation is to ensure that its common shares remain eligible for continued listing on the New York Stock Exchange, the company explained. The consolidation will reduce the company’s number of issued and outstanding shares from about 2.01 billion shares to 2.01 million shares.