Wednesday Morning Market Highlights

GuruFocus.com
3 min read
0
In this article:

- By Omar Venerio

U.S. markets

U.S. stocks were in the green on Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen suggested that a higher interest rate could stabilize the overheating economy. The Dow rose 0.32% to 34,241, the S&P 500 Index advanced 0.39% to 4,180 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.34% at 13,679.


Gainers

  • Under Armour Inc. (NYSE:UAA) +8.8%

  • Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE:DVN) +7.1%

  • Schlumberger NV (NYSE:SLB) +5.5%

  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) +5.4%

  • Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) +5.1%



Losers

  • HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE:HFC) -6.1%

  • Amerisourcebergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC) -6.5%

  • Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) -2.9%

  • Ventas Inc. (NYSE:VTR) -2.8%

  • Cooper Companies Inc. (NYSE:COO) -2.8%



Global markets

The main European stock markets traded in the green.The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 1.68%, Germany's Dax inched up 2.12%, France's CAC 40 increased 1.40% and Spain's Ibex 35 gained 1.56%.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.83%, India's BSE Sensex rose 0.88%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.49% and China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.81%.

Barrick Gold releases earnings report

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:GOLD) gained more than 0.5% on Tuesday, to change hands at $22.13, after the company posted its fiscal first-quarter results.

Revenue grew 8.8% year over year to $2.96 billion, but fell $10 million short of expectations. It posted earnings of 29 cents per share, beating analysts' estimates by 2 cents.

Chairman and CEO Mark Bristow had the following to say:


"The rise in the gold price has prompted a resurgence of the short-termism which has plagued the market, with some investors focusing on short-term gains rather than sustainable growth. But Barrick is building a business for the long term and our focus remains firmly on the future and on the creation and delivery of long-term value to our shareholders and all our other stakeholders."



In the first quarter, copper sales rose 31% compared to the prior quarter due to stronger prices.

On an adjusted basis, Barrick earned $507 million (29 cents per share) in the first quarter of 2021, compared to an adjusted profit of $285 million (16 cents per share) in the prior-year quarter.

Moreover, the operating cash flow was $1.3 billion and the free cash flow reached $0.8 billion.

Barrick Gold shares have retreated about 10% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13%.

At the end of December, Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his holding by 5% to 160,140 shares, while Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio) doubled his stake to 552,127 shares.

Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.

Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Advertisement

Recommended Stories