U.S. stocks ended the trading week in the red, as expectations that a deal would be made to avoid the fiscal cliff temporarily wavered.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell five sessions in a row, losing 253 points, or 1.9% during the week, to finish at 12,938.11. The S&P 500 Index dropped 28 points, or 1.9%, to 1,402.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 61 points, or 2%, to 2,960.31. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index stayed flat at 160.62 points, similar to the spot price for gold, which closed at US$1,656.30 per oz.
On Jan. 1, U.S. lawmakers reached a deal to prolong Bush-era tax cuts for families that made below US$450,000 a year and delay spending cuts that might have pushed the country back into a recession, bringing relief to investors and a boost to global markets.
For the last week of 2012, the biggest percentage gainer was Western Copper and Gold, adding 36% to close at US$1.28 a share on no news. On Dec. 21, the Vancouver-based firm said it closed a royalty agreement with 8248567 Canada Limited for its Casino copper-gold-molybdenum project in the Yukon, whereby the buyer cancelled its 5% net profit interest royalty in the project and paid Western US$32 million for a 2.75% net smelter return royalty.
Gold majors Barrick Gold, Newmont Mining and Goldcorp were among the top value gainers, each adding less than US65¢ to finish at US$34, US$45 and US$35 per share, also on no major news.
On Dec. 31, Toronto-based Eastmain Resources announced it closed a $3-million private placement with Goldcorp, where the major bought 3-million flow-through shares at $1 apiece. Goldcorp now owns 9.9% of Eastmain. The proceeds will be used to advance Eastmain’s early stage projects in Quebec, including the Éléonore South property, located near Goldcorp’s Roberto gold project.
Alcoa, a leading aluminum producer, was the week’s most actively traded stock, with 48.9 million shares changing hands. On Dec. 20, the company said its power and propulsion unit signed a long-term contract with Siemens Energy to provide blades and vanes for various industrial gas turbines, without specifying the terms. Alcoa ended the week off US7¢ at US$8.50 per share.
U.S. most active issues
| Volume | |||||||
| Company | Symbol | (000s) | High | Low | Close | Change | |
| Alcoa* | AA | 48907 | 8.8 | 8.49 | 8.5 | – | 0.07 |
| Freeport McMo* | FCX | 42605 | 34.15 | 33 | 33.14 | – | 0.44 |
| Alpha Nat Res* | ANR | 35111 | 9.67 | 8.92 | 9.27 | – | 0.01 |
| Arch Coal* | ACI | 28085 | 7.47 | 6.9 | 7.02 | – | 0.29 |
| Kinross Gold* | KGC | 19995 | 9.67 | 9.35 | 9.42 | + | 0.04 |
| Barrick Gold* | ABX | 19636 | 34.69 | 33.25 | 34.01 | + | 0.63 |
| Newmont Mng* | NEM | 18670 | 45.87 | 43.85 | 45.03 | + | 0.45 |
| Cliffs Nat Rs* | CLF | 18017 | 37.13 | 34.82 | 35.58 | + | 0.18 |
| Goldcorp* | GG | 15231 | 36.55 | 35.23 | 35.59 | + | 0.39 |
| Peabody Enrgy* | BTU | 14593 | 26.69 | 25.27 | 25.36 | – | 0.99 |
U.S. greatest percentage change
| Volume | |||||||
| Company | Symbol | (000s) | High | Low | Close | Change | |
| Western Coppr* | WRN | 1291 | 1.86 | 0.99 | 1.28 | + | 36.1 |
| Golden Star* | GSS | 6894 | 1.8 | 1.55 | 1.75 | + | 15.1 |
| Exeter Res* | XRA | 105 | 1.23 | 1.1 | 1.2 | + | 10 |
| Thompson Crk* | TC | 2208 | 4.24 | 3.81 | 4.22 | + | 9.6 |
| Paramount Gld* | PZG | 1961 | 2.28 | 2.09 | 2.24 | + | 7.6 |
| North Am Pall* | PAL | 9098 | 1.32 | 1.15 | 1.31 | + | 7.3 |
| Vista Gold* | VGZ | 1191 | 2.67 | 2.37 | 2.58 | + | 7 |
| Intl Tower Hi* | THM | 138 | 2.12 | 1.91 | 2.09 | + | 5 |
| Mountain Prov* | MDM | 40 | 4.08 | 3.76 | 4.01 | + | 4.9 |
| Midway Gold* | MDW | 129 | 1.32 | 1.27 | 1.31 | + | 4.8 |
| Atlatsa Res* | ATL | 821 | 0.18 | 0.15 | 0.15 | – | 18.9 |
| PolyMet Mng* | PLM | 729 | 0.96 | 0.86 | 0.87 | – | 9.3 |
| Uranium Res* | URRE | 2606 | 0.35 | 0.3 | 0.32 | – | 8.7 |
| Molycorp* | MCP | 14019 | 9.98 | 9.07 | 9.15 | – | 7.1 |
| Rare Elemt Re* | REE | 1939 | 3.56 | 3.18 | 3.18 | – | 7 |
| Northern Dyn* | NAK | 683 | 3.47 | 3.15 | 3.2 | – | 6.1 |
| Goldfield* | GV | 291 | 1.97 | 1.85 | 1.85 | – | 6 |
| SinoCoking Cl* | SCOK | 133 | 1.34 | 1.16 | 1.17 | – | 5.6 |
| Entree Gold* | EGI | 408 | 0.47 | 0.42 | 0.43 | – | 5.2 |
| Solitario Ex&* | XPL | 81 | 1.6 | 1.47 | 1.52 | – | 5 |
U.S. greatest value change
| Company | Symbol | Change | Close | Change | |
| Buenaventura* | BVN | 2724419 | 35.77 | + | 0.97 |
| Barrick Gold* | ABX | 19636132 | 34.01 | + | 0.63 |
| Newmont Mng* | NEM | 18669564 | 45.03 | + | 0.45 |
| Vale* | VALE | 9116319 | 20.52 | + | 0.42 |
| Goldcorp* | GG | 15230577 | 35.59 | + | 0.39 |
| Thompson Crk* | TC | 2207638 | 4.22 | + | 0.37 |
| Coeur d Alene* | CDE | 3763400 | 23.68 | + | 0.37 |
| Western Coppr* | WRN | 1291124 | 1.28 | + | 0.34 |
| Harmony Gold* | HMY | 7077364 | 8.63 | + | 0.34 |
| AngloGold Ash* | AU | 4001781 | 30.66 | + | 0.32 |
| Randgold Res* | GOLD | 1129703 | 96.32 | – | 3.14 |
| Consol Energy* | CNX | 7930109 | 31.76 | – | 1.39 |
| Peabody Enrgy* | BTU | 14592926 | 25.36 | – | 0.99 |
| Teck Res B* | TCK | 3314433 | 35.22 | – | 0.87 |
| Molycorp* | MCP | 14019326 | 9.15 | – | 0.7 |
| Cabot Corp* | CBT | 561281 | 38.96 | – | 0.68 |
| MDU Res* | MDU | 1705446 | 20.89 | – | 0.65 |
| Soc Quim&M Ch* | SQM | 1286354 | 56.93 | – | 0.64 |
| Cameco Corp* | CCJ | 4930190 | 19.27 | – | 0.62 |
| Alliance Rs P* | ARLP | 423309 | 57.52 | – | 0.54 |
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