Trading Summary (December 12, 2002)

Toronto stocks ended Thursday’s trading session 49.83 points higher at 6,637.08. The gold index led the way soaring 13.28 points or nearly 7.5% to 192.41. The golds benefited from a US$6.50-per-oz. surge by the yellow metal to US$331.10 per oz. in New York. The base metal miners lagged behind, grabbing 0.64 of a point to make 123.63.

Kinross Gold was the nation’s busiest mining stock rising 40 to $3.32 on about 14.4 million shares. Placer Dome was next in line shooting up $1.26 to $17.30; Barrick Gold rounded out the major producers with a $1.18 gain to $24.60.

Splitting the majors was Bema Gold, up 14 to $2.05 on a volume of more than 4.2 million shares.

Also making the TSX’s top ten traded list was Fording, which rose 54 to $33.20 on nearly 3.6 million shares. On Thursday, Sherritt International, and its partner the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, upped its $29-per-share hostile bid by $5 to $34 per share, to a maximum of $850 million. Fording shareholders can also take an exchangeable right for a unit in new income trust for each share tendered. For their part, Sherritt’s shares finished 16 lower at $4.09.

The offer trumps last week’s $34-per-share income trust deal involving Fording, Teck Cominco, and Westshore Terminals Income Fund. Teck’s B shares ended a quarter higher at $11.18 on the strength of nearly 1.2 million shares. Westshore units dropped 15 to $4.80.

Inco regained a dime to $29.96 on about 2 million shares, after sagging on news of a comprehensive review of its $1.4-billion Goro nickel project in New Caledonia as estimates of the project’s capital cost could balloon by 30-45%. The review is slated for completion by mid-2003, and will not affect development of the Voisey’s Bay project.