Dow, gold waiting for Fed

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 69.3 points to close at 10,504.46 for the report period ended June 27, as the market bided its time waiting for the U.S. Federal Reserve Board to decided whether or not to raise interest rates.

Gold, too, held firm at US$285.60 per oz. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, though most producers were off for the week: New York Stock Exchange-listed Newmont Mining slumped $1.31 to close at US$21.75 per share, while its merger partner, Battle Mountain Gold, climbed 31 to close at US$2.19; South Africa’s Gold Fields, poised to merge with Toronto’s Franco-Nevada Mining, slipped 35 on the Nasdaq to close at US$3.84; and Ashanti Goldfields lost 26 to close at US$1.62, while AngloGold shed 19 to US$20.75 (this despite the fact that the two companies signed the formal agreement for the sale of 50% of the Geita gold mine in Tanzania). Meanwhile, Durban Roodepoort Deeps dipped 16 to US$1.03, while Harmony Gold Mining picked up 53 to close at US$5.53.

In copper, Phelps Dodge was off 25 for the week to close at US$41.69, though the company has since stated that it expects a dip in its second-quarter earnings. Broken Hill Proprietary continued its climb, closing up $1.24 to US$23.62. Class B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold rebounded 56 to US$9.62.

De Beers Consolidated Mines advanced $1.13 to US$23.75 after making a hostile bid for Winspear Resources; Rio Tinto jumped $3.06 after bidding for iron-ore producer North Ltd.; and Stillwater Mining fell $3.56 to US$26.19, while Apex Silver Mines dropped 68 to US$9.94.