U.S. markets eke out small gains, Dec. 5-9

U.S. equities ended the week marginally higher as leaders in the European Union-with the exception of Great Britain-agreed in principal to draft a new treaty to form a closer fiscal union in the Euro zone. But skepticism about whether Europe can really get its debt crisis under control, the downgrade by rating agency Moody’s of the debt of France’s three largest banks, and worrisome manufacturing data from China, continued to eat away at confidence and drive many investors out of the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.37% higher or 164.84 points to close at 12,184.26, while the S&P 500 index edged up 0.88% or 10.91 points to 1,255.19. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.75% or 19.65 points to 2,646.58, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver index headed in the opposite direction, down 0.81% or 1.64 points to close at 200.64.

West Africa focused miner Randgold Resources topped the list of gains advancing US$4.25 to US$108.51 per share on no news and despite announcing Nov. 28 that setbacks at its Tongon mine in Cote d’Ivoire will impact production in the fourth quarter. Wet weather, work stoppages as the company negotiated with the newly established union, the shift from diesel-generated power to the national grid and a mill breakdown were among the reasons the company cited for its view that 2011 production will drop to between 690,000 and 700,000 ounces of gold-down from its previous guidance of between 740,000 and 760,000 ounces of gold.

Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources gained US$1.01 to US$69.35 per share despite news on Dec. 5 that it expects full-year 2012 production volume at its Empire mine in Michigan will fall to about 2.7 million tons from 2011’s full-year expected production volume of about 4.6 million tons. The decrease is due to blast furnace maintenance scheduled at one of the company’s North American customer facilities. But the company reassured investors that the expected production decline would not affect 2012 production volumes at its other four iron mines in the U.S.

Oromin Explorations jumped 45.6% to US$1.18 per share after the company confirmed,  in response to a request by the TSX’s Market Surveillance department, that it is “currently in discussions that could lead to a potential acquisition of the company,” noting that “there can be no assurance” that any transaction will occur. The company’s OJVG gold project is in eastern Senegal, about 650 km east of the capital city of Dakar.