On July 31, Anglogold Ashanti fell 7.75% in pre-market trading, trading at $76.28/share, with turnover of $4.93 million. The selloff was triggered by the company's Q2 earnings report missing analyst expectations on both earnings and revenue, compounded by declining gold production.

Anglogold Ashanti reported Q2 headline EPS of $1.98, significantly below the analyst consensus estimate of $2.38. Gold income came in at $3.03 billion, also missing the expected $3.20 billion. While core profit surged 58% year-over-year to $1.01 billion on the back of a 35% rise in average gold selling prices, Q2 gold production fell 7% to 744,000 ounces. The Obuasi mine in Ghana was a key drag, with output plunging 32% due to operational and equipment issues as well as a fatal accident in April that halted operations.

Despite maintaining full-year production guidance and announcing a $0.72/share quarterly dividend along with a $2 billion share buyback program, investors focused on operational challenges. The broader gold sector traded lower, with Newmont Mining down 1.96%, Kinross down 2.24%, Coeur Mining down 2.47%, Agnico Eagle Mines down 1.96%, and Barrick Mining down 1.86%.

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