The report period ended March 16 was stained by a terrorist attack on Spanish commuters riding Madrid’s train system during the early hours of March 11. Ten bombs were detonated on four trains, killing 201 people and injuring around 1,500, apparently in retaliation for the Spanish government’s support for America’s war in Iraq.
Just as shocking, the bombings also changed the outcome of Spain’s general elections, which saw Spanish voters reject the government of Jose Maria Aznar, a key supporter of the Iraq war, in favour of the socialist and anti-war candidate Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Prior polling had predicted an easy victory for the ruling party.
Markets around the world sold off sharply in the days following the attack as suspicion mounted that the culprits were Islamic jihadists rather than the usual home-grown Basque separatists.
Canadian markets followed the global downtrend, with the S&P-TSX Composite Index tumbling 247.04, or 2.8%, to 8503.27. A contributing factor was the disturbing announcement by
The geopolitical turmoil strenghtened gold prices, which climbed back above the US$400-per-oz. mark. Gold stocks, however, were dragged down with the rest of the market, as evidenced by the S&P-TSX gold index, which fell 5.64 points, or 2.6%, to 212.49.
The most-active list was topped again by
In second spot was
The S&P-TSX metals and mining index also retreated, sinking a hefty 8.83 points, or 4%, to 214.94.
Among the base metal juniors, London-based
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