Market weakens entering summer

Denver — The Dow Jones industrial average slumped 351.71 points, or 3.2%, to 10,596.67 for the report period ended June 19, as the market slipped into the summer doldrums. The Nasdaq dipped below 2,000 for the first time since April.

The spot gold price improved a bit to US$273.40 per oz. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, though most mining issues were mixed. South Africa’s AngloGold dipped 50 to US$18.40; Peru’s Compania de Minas Buenaventura dropped 69 to US$17.88.

At the same time, Homestake Mining slid 11 to US$6.88; New York Stock Exchange-listed Newmont Mining lost 1 to close at US$21.61 on heavy trading; Nasdaq-listed Gold Fields advanced 21 to US$4.65; Ashanti Goldfields gained 8 to US$2.93; mid-sized Meridian Gold added 16 to end the week at US$8.30; and Glamis Gold tacked on 8 to finish at US$2.93.

Comex copper slipped to US72 per lb., pushing Phelps Dodge down $1.21 to US$41.43. Class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold dipped 39 and 51, respectively, to close at US$13.03 and US$14.66. Southern Peru Copper added 14 to close at US$14.36, while Rio Tinto fell $2.79 to US$71.01, and Australia’s WMC dropped $1.05 to US$18.70; Anglo American meanwhile edged down 45 to US$14.90.

Stillwater Mining lost $1.55 to close at US$31.10. The palladium producer plans to move to the NYSE. Also, junior Canyon Resources dropped 15 to US$1.05, Crown Resources plunged 10 to US17, and Nasdaq-listed Chief Consolidated Mining lost 44 to end at US$2.46.