Dow awaits election results

Denver — The Dow Jones industrial average paused for the U.S. election, falling a mere 18.96 points, or 0.2%, to close at 10,952.18 for the week ended Nov. 7, while mining issues continued their descent.

Spot gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange languished at US$264.30 per oz. as the latest British gold auction of 25 tonnes was only moderately oversubscribed.

AngloGold continued falling, posting another new low of US$14.12 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 26. Other South Africans also hit new lows, including: Gold Fields, which dropped 28 to US$2.69; Nasdaq-listed Durban Roodepoort Deep, which slipped 15 to US69; and Harmony Gold Mining, which dipped 6 to US$3.75. Here at home, Homestake Mining hit a new low of US$3.81, off 31.

Newmont Mining bucked the downward trend, climbing 25 to US$13.81, though its Yanacocha partner Compania de Minas Buenaventura plunged $1.13 to a new low of US$11.75. Mid-sized Meridian Gold also advanced, 12 to US$5.12.

Comex copper slid to US83 per lb., though Phelps Dodge gained $2.44 to close at US$49.19. Class B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold slumped 50 to a new low of US$7.44. Australia’s Broken Hill Proprietary picked up 44 to close at US$20.25, though Southern Peru Copper closed down 44 to US$13.50.

De Beers Consolidated Mines rose $1 to US$28.88, while its majority shareholder, Anglo American, was also up $1 to US$55.75. Apex Silver Mines tacked on 19 to US$9.31, though palladium miner Stillwater Mining slipped 55 to US$28.45.