STOCK MARKETS — TSE rises as mining stocks fall

The Toronto Stock Exchange continued its record-setting pace in the period Sept. 25-Oct. 1, with the TSE 300 index closing at 5,329.55, up 26.89 points, or 0.6%, from the previous week. The average daily volume for the week was close to 90 million shares. Strength in the market came from the consumer products and real estate sectors, while the gold and base metal issues fell.

The Canadian dollar was trading at US73.43 cents at noon on Oct. 2, rising just under a quarter of a cent over the course of the week. It also gained ground on every major European currency, as well as the Japanese yen.

It was another dismal week on London bullion markets, with gold down $4.05 to US$379.20 per oz. on Oct. 2. Rumors of gold sales by the International Monetary Fund and the central banks continued to depress the price. Platinum fell $4.50 to US$383.75, and silver was off 3 cents to US$4.91. Beleaguered palladium bounced back (modestly), gaining $1.50 to close at US$120.50 per oz. in interbank trading on Oct. 1.

The Toronto gold and precious minerals sub-index lost 2.6% of value, or 300.03 points, to close at 11,224.18 on Oct. 1. Both Barrick Gold (down $1.10 to $35.25) and Placer Dome (down $1.40 to $32.45) traded just over 5 million shares to head the most-active list among the golds. TVX Gold fell 35 cents to $9.50, Bema Gold was off 45 cents to $9.95, and Kinross Gold lost 75 cents for a close of $9.45. Euro-Nevada Mining was down $1.70 to $39.25, while stablemate Franco-Nevada Mining gained 80 cents to close at $52.30.

Pegasus Gold and Dayton Mining called off the wedding after meeting the in-laws — a process known in the business as “due diligence.” Pegasus was unchanged at $14.15 and Dayton lost 90 cents to close at $9.30.

Moving against the trend were Golden Star Resources, up $1.70 to $22.25, and Greenstone Resources, up $1.10 to $19.70.

The base metal markets were volatile, with aluminum still in a free fall at US60 cents per lb. Nickel lost 10 cents to finish its Oct. 2 ring at US$3.14, whereas copper was down 2 cents and lead, 1 cents.

The TSE metals and minerals sub-index fell 38.35 points to 5,008.95, for a loss of 0.8%. Inco was 45 cents lower at $41.90 and Noranda lost 20 cents to close at $27.60. Cominco was off 70 cents to $28.30, while parent Teck saw its B-series shares rise 10 cents to $27.75 against the trend in both base metals and gold. Cameco fell 50 cents to finish the trading period at $67.

Among the Toronto juniors, Bre-X Minerals fell 80 cents to $26.50, following the announcement that the company would not insist on maintaining majority ownership of its Busang property in Indonesia. The announcement left the door open for a takeover bid for Bre-X, or a joint venture with a major company taking up a majority share. Placer Dome has been mentioned as a possible suitor, though its president, John Willson, recently described Bre-X as “fully valued.”

Also on the Toronto market, Guyana Gold was 24 cents higher, closing at 90 cents. The company released news of executive stock options but no exploration results. Another price-mover was Geraldton-area explorer Roxmark Mines, which added 6 cents to close at 23 cents.

With 6.5 million shares trading, Denison Mines was up 1 cents to close at 31 cents. Continuing financings put Aurex Minerals on the most active list, falling 6 cents to close at 39 cents on a volume of 3 million shares.

The Montreal junior board was lively once again, with VenCan Gold issuing a disclaimer after the stock rose 55 cents to $1.50 on Sept. 25. It was back to $1.15 at the end of the trading period for a net rise of 20 cents on the week.

Minieres du Nord was also higher, rising 64 cents to $1.55 on a volume of 2.6 million shares. Orient Resources also traded heavily and added 8 cents to close at 23 cents.