Wall Street gains, April 20-24

U.S. equities swung back into the positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.4% to 18,080.14 points and the S&P 500 Index added 1.8% to 2,117.69. The Nasdaq rose 3.2% to 5,092.08. The gold price, however, fell US$15.30 to US$1,180.40 per oz. 

Molycorp surged, jumping 28% to US99¢ per share. Last week, the firm reported that it would supply rare earth materials to Siemens over the next decade for its wind turbine generators. Molycorp will provide the rare earth materials produced at its Mountain Pass, Calif., facility to Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., which will make rare earth magnets for Siemens’ wind turbines. 

Shares of Uranium Energy and Uranerz Energy rose after Japan came closer to restarting its nuclear reactors. A Japanese court approved the reactivation of two reactors at Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai nuclear power plant, rejecting a petition filed by some residents. The reactors should come online by July. Japan is working to restore its nuclear sector after shutting down all 43 of its reactors after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Uranium Energy surged 24% to US$2.41 per share, and Uranerz Energy climbed 11% to US$1.25 per share.

Fortuna Silver Mines rose 11% to US$3.65 per share after reporting strong first-quarter results. Output from its San Jose mine in Mexico and Caylloma mine in Peru totalled 1.6 million oz. silver and 9,739 oz. gold, plus base metal by-products. Silver and gold production increased 6% and 19%, from the same period last year. Cash costs per tonne milled were $59.80 for San Jose and $84 for Caylloma, in-line with the company’s guidance. Raymond James analyst Chris Thompson has a $7 target on the stock and has upgraded it to a “strong buy” from an “outperform.” Thompson sees Fortuna as a top pick in the silver sector, noting its ability to manage costs. It is expanding San Jose’s mine and plant to 3,000 tonnes per day, with commissioning by mid-2016.  

Eurasian Minerals was the biggest loser, dropping 29% to US63¢ per share, on no news. The company is “not aware of any reason for the increased volume and share price volatility,” suggesting the drop came from imbalanced sales and purchase orders.