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The S&P Materials sector index dropped -0.13% this week, and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) -0.14%. The spotlight this week was dominated by economic data and concerns regarding the Federal Reserve’s path forward on rate hikes.
Gold futures finished Thursday at their lowest close so far this year, a day after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting showed policymakers plan to push interest rates higher.
Front-month Comex gold (XAUUSD:CUR) closed -1.62% at $1,810.89/oz, while February silver (XAGUDS:CUR) ended -4.32% to $20.75/oz.
Meanwhile, iron ore futures (SCO:COM) were up +3.14% for the week and surged past $130/metric ton, helped by an upbeat demand outlook in top steel producer China by top miner BHP (NYSE:BHP).
Take a look at this week’s top gainers among basic material stocks ($2B market cap or more):
- Sigma Lithium (SGML) +13.96%
- Constellium (CSTM) +9.48%; Shares were up after a Q4 revenue beat and confident long-term outlook.
- Linde (LIN) +8.35%
- Sylvamo (SLVM) +5.57%
- Mosaic (MOS) +4.12%; The company posted a top-line beat for Q4 and approved a special dividend.
Here are the top losers among basic material stocks:
- Teck Resources (TECK) -10.84%; This week Teck unveiled a plan to spin off its steelmaking coal unit to shareholders, creating two independent, publicly-traded companies.
- Gold Fields (GFI) -10.20%; The firm reported lower FY 2022 net profit despite a rise in production.
- Sasol (SSL) -9.90%
- BHP Group (BHP) -9.09%; This week BHP reported a 32% decline in H1 net profit, reflecting a downswing in prices for iron ore, copper and other industrial metals during the six-month period.
- Sibanye Stillwater (SBSW) -8.95%; The miner warned its FY 2022 profit will fall sharply from a year earlier, reflecting the impact of a three-month strike at its South African gold mines, floods that hit its U.S operations, and a difficult macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.
Other materials ETFs to watch: iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETF (WOOD), Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF, Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW), iShares Global Materials ETF (MXI), SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF (XME), VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (RING), Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX).
