The stock market had a good session on Tuesday, sending major benchmarks higher by roughly 0.5% to 0.75% from where they closed Monday. Good news on the Turkish economic front was largely responsible for the rebound, as the Turkish currency managed to claw back some of its lost ground from the past couple of days. Most investors don't appear to be taking seriously Turkey's threats of a boycott of American goods, and instead, they focused on strong earnings reports and favorable economic conditions domestically. But some companies missed out on the rally, and Gold Fields (GFI 1.72%), Vipshop Holdings (VIPS -2.48%), and Covia Holdings (CVIA) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.
Gold Fields gets bad news at South Deep
Shares of Gold Fields fell 13% after the company issued an announcement regarding its South Deep operation near Johannesburg. Operational challenges have plagued the mine, with rising overhead costs, failures to meet production targets, and difficult geological and engineering characteristics that make it tougher to make the most of the mine's opportunities. Losses have resulted, and Gold Fields said that it now needs to accept that lower production levels will require the mine to become more mechanized and efficient in order to boost sagging productivity levels. Investors weren't happy that the gold miner now sees a substantial impairment due to South Deep, and it's possible that even more bad news could be forthcoming.
Image source: Gold Fields.
Vipshop deals with disappointment
Vipshop Holding stock sank 16% following the release of the company's second-quarter financial results. The Chinese e-commerce specialist managed to boost revenue by 18% in local-currency terms, but adjusted net income declined substantially, failing to meet the expectations of investors. Even though Vipshop continued to attract new active customers to its sites and saw average purchases per customer go up, one Wall Street analyst company cut its rating on the company from buy all the way to sell and sliced its price target on the stock by more than half to $8 per share. U.S. investors seem reluctant to get excited about Chinese stocks during this era of trade tensions, but more will depend in the long run on whether Vipshop can emerge victorious in an industry that currently sees cutthroat competition.
Covia gets fracked
Finally, shares of Covia Holdings plunged 17%. The producer of hydraulic fracturing sand and aggregates for industrial use said that pro forma sales volumes rose by 10% from the first quarter to about 10 million tons, with similar growth when you look at the key energy segment separately. Covia is the new name for the company formed from the combination of Fairmount Santrol and Unimin, and CEO Jenniffer Deckard that the companies "made significant progress on integrating the strengths of our two legacy organizations." With oil prices having paused in their recent gains, investors seem reluctant to embrace Covia's optimism, but that could just result in better returns if things keep going right for Covia as its post-merger history unfolds.