Toronto Stock Exchange Stable golds and buying firm markets

A much-needed spate of buying during the end of our review week has added more than 60 pts to the tse composite index, which is back over the 3,000-point mark. After being pummeled by several days of declines which pushed the index under 3,000 pts, two days of bargain hunting have pushed the index to 3,049.45 pts — up 36.28 pts on the day.

Gold bullion, which took a severe beating last week giving up almost $30, appears to have stabilized at the $440(US)-per-oz level. Today, the s econd London fix was $441.10. The firmer price was reflected in the gold and silver index which added a modest 53.89 pts to close at 5,806.89 pts. Metals and minerals also advanced, adding 91.63 pts to 2,358.22 pts.

For the moment, the fickleness and nervousness of the market — where good news is interpreted as bad and bad news is even worse — appears to have dissipated. Concerns over which way the North American economy will head in 1988 remain very high. As a result, even the smallest economic indicator has the ability to trigger an over-reaction in the equity markets. Since Black Monday, several days have been marked by wild swings generated by panic selling followed by upward corrections such as was experienced during the past two weeks.

One of the biggest winners today was Inco Ltd., which gained $1.88 to close at $24.63. An excellent example of the “good-news-is-bad-news” syndrome, Inco last week reported its fifth best quarter — ever. And then promptly lost 50 cents . Today, investors finally reacted to the strong bottom-line performance by Inco and to the reality that $3.50(US) nickel is not about to disappear. Competitor Falconbridge Ltd. also fared better, adding 50 cents to $18.88.

Senior gold miners were generally unchanged. American Barrick Resources was steady at $22.63 whereas Placer Dome Inc. held on to $14.50. Agnico Eagle, which gave up considerable ground last week, managed a partial recovery to $16 — up $1 for the week. Franco Nevada, which holds a rich royalty on Barrick’s Goldstrike and Post deposits in the Carlin area of Nevada, slipped to $7.25. Franco estimates that during the first 15 years of mining from the deposits, the royalties will generate pre-tax cash flow in excess of $375 million. Little wonder then that Franco management would like around $200 million from the sale of the royalties.

Staid major Kerr Addison Mines is taking on the color of a mining finance house. Late last year, the company took down a large private placement in msv Resources; a Montreal-listed company. This week, cash-rich Kerr bought a 49% interest in Resource Finance Corp. for $3 million. The latter company has been set up by Douglas Nicholson who was the principal architect behind the highly successful mfc Mining Finance Corporation. Kerr was stronger at $17.75.

Belmoral Mines, which is cutting deals just about every month, is at it again. The Quebec miner is buying a controlling interest in Roddy Resources which operates a heap leach gold mine in the U.S. Belmoral was 20 cents better to $2.30. Roddy was unchanged at $2.11.

Getty Resources, which has a new controlling shareholder in the form of French company Total Resources, was quiet at $8.50. The company has completed a $6-million flow-through share placement. In a bid to make the company’s shares more accessible on the retail level, International Corona Resources has split its shares on a five-for-one basis. The pre-spilt close was $36.50. The new price will be around $7.