STOCK MARKETS — Markets ride wave as metals sink

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s TSE 300 index hit two record high closings in the four trading days between Oct. 9 and 15. The TSE composite closed at a record 5,461.20 on Oct. 11 and came back with a 5,480.60-point encore on Oct.

15. These record-shattering days represented little new value in the market, however, with the index adding only 44.06 points or 0.8% from the week before.

Market volumes were over 100 million shares on Oct. 9 and 10 as the market drifted slightly lower, but they settled back to the 80-million range on the final two days. The financial services and conglomerates sub-indexes led the market; it was the same old story for the mining companies, with both golds and base metal issues falling.

The Canadian dollar stood at US73.78 cents at noon on Oct. 16, finishing the week marginally lower against the greenback and the pound but continuing to climb against the other major foreign currencies.

London bullion markets were quiet this week, with gold trading in a narrow band around US$381 per oz. The yellow metal landed at US$380.80 per oz. in the dealers’ Oct. 16 morning huddle, for a net loss of 10 cents on the week.

Platinum was also little-changed, falling 25 cents to US$383.75 per oz.

Silver put on the big show; though not completely recovered from its battering in recent weeks, it tacked on 14 cents to finish the trading period at US$5.02, with afternoon trading still higher.

The TSE gold and precious minerals sub-index was fractionally lower, falling 43.18 points to 11,306.14 and sharing the listlessness of the bullion markets. Barrick Gold was the most actively traded on the gold board, with 3.9 million shares exchanged; it fell 10 cents to $35.80. Kinross Gold also saw heavy volume, rising 5 cents to $10.25.

Among the issues losing ground were Placer Dome, off 10 cents to $32.90; TVX Gold, down 5 cents to $9.60; and Bema Gold, 50 cents lower at $9.50. That durable hybrid Teck saw a $1.40 loss in its B-series shares, which closed at $27.75.

Both Franco Nevada Mining and Euro Nevada Mining made strong gains, with Franco up $2.35 to $52.60 and Euro up $1 to $39.

London base metal markets were stable, except for aluminum, which has weakened steadily over the month and stood at US59 cents after the Oct. 16 mid-day ring. The other base metals changed little, as even copper abandoned its skittish ways and traded in a US$20-per-tonne band.

The TSE metals and minerals sub-index was down 52.31 points to 4,956.37 at the close of trading on Oct. 15. Inco fell 55 cents to $39.85 on a volume of 4.2 million shares. Falconbridge was 60 cents lower at $27.70 and parent Noranda was down a loon at $26.95. Cominco was the big winner among the integrated mines, adding 55 cents to finish the trading period at $29.

Among the smaller base metal companies on the index, Aur Resources added 30 cents to close at $7.95 and International Curator was off $1.35 to $12.30.

Bre-X Minerals was the most active of the Toronto juniors, with 14.1 million shares crossing the counter. It fell $2.35 to close at $22.95. An Indonesian company, Krueng Gasui, which owns a 10% interest in the Central zone of Bre-X’s Busang deposit, has claimed an entitlement to 10% of the much larger Southeast zone. Krueng Gasui has not yet filed a lawsuit to claim the interest, but the Department of Mines and Energy in Indonesia is holding up two Contract of Work applications by Bre-X until the dispute is resolved.

Also this week, Golden Valley Mines, an Australian company, announced it was backing claims on an interest in Busang made by Krueng Gasui and by another Indonesian company, Sungai Atan Perdona.

Wesley Technologies was 20 cents higher at 68 cents, following its announcement that it had reached an agreement to buy the Midwinter gold mine in Zimbabwe. The company says Midwinter, which produced 1,800 oz. gold in 1995, could be expanded into a 12,000-15,000-oz. producer.