Wall Street marches higher, April 6-10

U.S. stocks rose for a second straight week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 294.41 points to 18,057.65 and the S&P 500 Index gained 35.1 points to finish at 2,102.06. Both indexes were up 1.7%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.2% to 4,995.98. Spot gold tacked on US$5.30 per oz. to end at US$1,207.30, helping lift the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index up nearly 2% to 69.27. 

Part of the gains were due to speculation that the Federal Reserve might delay an interest rate hike to September instead of June after a poor March jobs report, released on April 3. The Labor Department reported U.S. employers added 126,000 jobs in March —  the smallest gain since December 2013. The unemployment rate stayed at 5.5%. 

China’s fourth-largest coal producer, Yanzhou Coal Mining, jumped 28%, or US$2.57 per share, to US$11.66, after the Chinese government said it would cut prices for coal-generated electricity, as part of its effort to lower companies’ costs and stimulate a slowing economy. The move comes amid weak coal prices.

Aluminum Corp. of China, China’s largest alumina and primary aluminum producer, rose nearly 20%, or US$2.65 per share, to US$16.02, on no company-related news. However, media reported that the firm sold more aluminum ingot in the spot market on the back of growing liquidity pressures in the country.

Lightweight metals producer Alcoa was the most actively traded stock after strong first quarter 2015 profits, thanks to a lift in its smelting division. Headline earnings were US$195 million, or US14¢ per share, up from a net loss of US$178 million, or US16¢ per share. Excluding special items, adjusted earnings were US$363 million, or US28¢ per share. Revenue jumped 7% to US$5.82 billion, driven by strong automotive and aerospace volume. Alcoa, which has been streamlining its portfolio, closed relatively flat at US$13.15 per share on 181 million shares traded.

Shares of Ur-Energy lost 10.5% to finish at US85¢ per share after the Colorado-based uranium producer announced that its president and CEO Wayne Heili would step down at the start of May 2015. In the interim, current chairman Jeff Klenda will take on the role as acting CEO.