Precious Metals Push Ahead

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) grew 68.1 points at Wednesday’s (May 9) close to end the day at 15,910.81. It continued to rise on Thursday (May 10) when it picked up 20.39 points to reach 15,931.2.

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) gained 3.23 points on Wednesday to reach 774.05. The index continued to make gradual progress on Thursday morning when it boosted 2.62 points to 776.67.

Despite gold dragging down the TSX with major miners like Kinross (TSX:K) and Goldcorp (TSX:G) dropping 11.8 percent and 0.74 percent respectively, healthcare and energy stocks picked up the slack. Enbridge (TSX:ENB) gained 2 percent when the company said it would sell a 49 percent stake in some of its renewable power assets to help alleviate the company’s debt. In healthcare, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (TSX:VRX) grew 2.1 percent while Aurora Cannabis (TSX:ACB) picked up 3 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) picked up 182.33 points on Wednesday to hit 24,542.54. The index picked up speed on Thursday morning as it gained 97.81 points to reach 24,640.35.

The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) bloomed 25.87 points on Wednesday to close at 2,697.79. Thursday morning saw the S&P grab 9.95 points to hit 2,707.74.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) proved to be some of the Dow’s best performers yesterday, as the two stocks picked up 1.7 percent and 2.3 percent respectively. Meanwhile, on the S&P, the energy sector grew 2 percent with Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) leading the way with gains of 5.4 percent.

Note: All numbers shown above were accurate as of 10:00 a.m. EST.

Daily metals

Gold simmered by Wednesday’s close as it reached US$1,313 per ounce. It leaped ahead on Thursday morning as it grew to US$1,319.1. Silver made small progress on Wednesday when it closed at US$16.54 per ounce. The precious metal shot forward on Thursday as it climbed to US$16.73.

Copper stumbled on Wednesday as it closed at US$3.05 per pound. The commodity shimmied up on Thursday morning when it pushed to US$3.11.

Major miner news

• Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS): The company announced its Q1 2018 financial results, which included highlights such as net earnings of US$48.2 million and US$207 million in revenue. Pan American also produced 6.1 million ounces of silver and 46.2 thousand ounces of gold.

• Franco-Nevada (TSX:FNV): Franco-Nevada released its Q1 2018 results, including highlights of US$173.1 million in revenue, which the company cites as a new record. Other highlights were the increase of the company’s quarterly dividend, which rose from US$0.23 to US$0.24 per share.

• B2Gold (TSX:BTO,NYSE:BTG): The company announced its 2018 first quarter results, which included highlights such as the production of 239,684 ounces of gold, an 81 percent increase from Q1 2017. It also saw record quarterly consolidated gold revenue of US$344 million, a 135 percent increase from Q1 2017.

• Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS): Community roadblocks at the company’s Huaron mine in Peru have ended, as Pan American predicts mine operations will go back to normal within 48 hours. The roadblocks ceased after an agreement was reached with representatives of the Huayllay community, who had initiated the roadblocks.

• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL): Hecla announced its Q1 financial and operating results for 2018. Some highlights include sales of $139.7 million, along with an adjusted EBITDA of $58.4 million.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.