Denver — The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 570.04 points, or 5.5%, over the report period ended March 20 to close at 9720.76, its lowest level in two years, while the Nasdaq tumbled 7.8%. Much of the freefall came after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 0.5%.
The carnage in the mining sector was aided by the previous week’s British gold auction, which took the life out of the yellow metal. Spot gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange bottomed at US$260.50, sending nearly all issues down: Newmont Mining slumped 79 to US$16.77; AngloGold fell $1.58 to US$14.75; Gold Fields shed 56 to US$3.69; Nasdaq-listed Harmony Gold Mining lost 60 to close at US$4.56; mid-sized Meridian Gold fell 79 to US$6.20; and Homestake Mining was off 36 to US$5.56.
Australia’s BHP lost 61 to close at US$20.19, despite having announced plans to merge with London’s Billiton. Other mining houses also suffered, including Anglo American, which fell $7.26 to US$59.62; its takeover target, De Beers Consolidated Mines, tumbled $3.06 to US$39.50. Rio Tinto declined $4.80 to US$69.70.
Comex copper dipped below US80 per lb., sending producers lower. Phelps Dodge dropped $3.08 to US$43.72, while class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold declined 33 and 50 to close at US$11.55 and US$12.66, respectively. Silver continued to languish, sending Apex Silver Mines off 45 to US$8.07. Peru’s Compania de Minas Buenaventura dropped $1.25 to US$13.50, while Hecla Mining fell 14 to US78. Platinum-producer Stillwater Mining lost $2.16 to close at US$27.67.
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