Century Aluminum (NASDAQ: CENX) shares bled through Thursday and closed down 19.11% after delivering an unimpressive set of second-quarter numbers. The drop happened despite significantly stronger aluminum markets. Expectations soared after rival Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reported its best-ever quarter in mid-July. Century Aluminum shares had gained a whopping 25%, but it took only one day for the stock to give up most of those gains.
As economies reopen, manufacturing is taking off. And demand from China (the world's largest aluminum consumer) remains firm. As a result, aluminum prices have shot up this year to hit historical highs. That's the biggest reason why Alcoa swung to a big profit last quarter . In sharp contrast, Century Aluminum's Q2 net loss widened to $35.1 million from 26.9 million in the year-ago period.
Image source: Getty Images.
For further details see:
Why This Metal Stock Plunged 19% Amid a Commodities Boom