The period ending Oct. 15 saw a dramatic surge in the broad U.S. markets, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index surging more than 10% to 8,255.68 and 881.27 points, respectively. Still, market bears and contrarians could draw some comfort that both upswings occurred within existing major down-channels that have yet to be reversed.
The main beneficiaries of the ebullient market were the base metal miners, who derive strength from signs of a strengthening U.S. economy: Phelps Dodge rocketed $4.37 to US$29; Alcoa jumped $3.14 to US$21.65; Rio Tinto soared $5.58 to US$71.03; Anglo American rose 2 to US$13.07; and BHP Billiton was up 29 to US$10.74. Only CVRD broke the trend, falling 86 to US$22.14.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold had a roller-coaster week, as shares plummetted more than $2 in the morning of Oct. 14 — the first day of trading following the terrorist bombing in Indonesia, where Freeport’s Grasberg mine is situated. Over the next two days, as the company released strong third-quarter results, the stock recovered the lost ground to end the period up $1.15 at US$12.23.
Gold prices tumbled almost $5 to US$314 per oz., sending many — but not all — of the U.S.-listed gold majors southward: Newmont Mining fell $1.90 to US$23.10; AngloGold held steady at US$24.09; Gold Fields slipped 26 to US$10.54; and Ashanti Goldfields gained 18 to US$5.38.
U.S. silver stocks moved in sympathy with the golds: Coeur d’Alene Mines eased off 1 to US$1.41; Hecla Mining dropped 30 to US$3.50; and Apex Silver Mines sank 64 to US$12.36.
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