Well, everybody that was anybody was down.
United States equity markets opened 2007 with a weak but unremarkable trading period Jan. 3-8 (markets were closed Jan. 2). While the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell back about 0.4% — 5.46 points to 1,412.84 — the resource sectors tanked, not merely as a sector, but stock by stock.
The slump arose out of price weakness in both precious and base metal markets. London gold saw a drastic intra-day drop of US$16.50 per oz. on Jan. 5 and finished at US$609.50 on Jan. 8, down US$26.20 per oz. against year-end. All the London-traded base metals except nickel were smacked down on Jan. 2.
The carnage in gold equity markets was universal. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver index (XAU) was down 9.38 points, or 6.6%, at 132.87, while unhedged stocks in the Amex Gold Bugs index were off 6.9% at 314.79. Newmont Mining was down US$2.31 at US$42.84, AngloGold Ashanti dropped US$2.69 to US$44.40, and Gold Fields was US$1.58 lower at US$17.30.
Among mid-tier golds, Minas Buenaventura dipped US$1.85 to US$26.21 and Randgold Resources shed US$1.98 to finish at US$21.48.
If anything, the base metal producers did better than the golds, but it was still a pretty thorough drenching. Rio Tinto fell US$14.16 to US$198.33, BHP Billiton slid US$2.42 to US$37.33, and Anglo American slipped US$1.41 to US$23.00.
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce was off US$1.27 to US$28.47; it completed its takeover of Inco on Jan. 4, with shares of Inco ceasing to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. CVRD was the most actively traded of the big base metal miners, seeing 27 million shares on the tape.
Phelps Dodge, the other severed limb of Phelps Dodge Inco, was down only US$2.17 at US$117.55, US$5.45 below the notional amount of the takeover offer for PD from Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, US$88.00 plus 0.67 of a share. Freeport was off US$3.48 at US$52.25, on volume of 23 million shares, while 13.7 million Phelps Dodge shares moved, a sign that arbitrage players may have noticed that spread.
U.S. most active issues
| VOLUME(000s) | HIGH | LOW | CLOSE | CHANGE | ||
| CVRD* | RIO | 27213 | 30.54 | 27.11 | 28.47 | -1.27 |
| Freeport McMo* | FCX | 23247 | 53.86 | 48.98 | 52.25 | -3.48 |
| Peabody Enrgy* | BTU | 22506 | 40.02 | 36.20 | 37.97 | -2.44 |
| Silverado* | SLGLF | 18802 | 0.095 | 0.07 | 0.079 | -0.015 |
| Newmont Mng* | NEM | 17966 | 45.58 | 42.46 | 42.84 | -2.31 |
| Goldcorp* | GG | 17920 | 29.04 | 25.44 | 25.88 | -2.56 |
| Alcoa* | AA | 17870 | 30.06 | 28.28 | 28.48 | -1.53 |
| BHP Billi-BHP* | BHP | 14466 | 39.69 | 36.88 | 37.33 | -2.42 |
| Phelps Dodge* | PD | 13727 | 118.15 | 114.25 | 117.55 | -2.17 |
| Coeur d Alene* | CDE | 12496 | 5.01 | 4.37 | 4.47 | -0.48 |
U.S. greatest percentage change
| VOLUME(000s) | HIGH | LOW | CLOSE | CHANGE | ||
| Sao Luis Mng* | SAOL | 878 | 0.74 | 0.36 | 0.62 | +77.1 |
| Homeland Pr M* | HPMEF | 116 | 0.84 | 0.59 | 0.82 | +36.6 |
| World Vent* | WVNTF | 55 | 0.16 | 0.14 | 0.16 | +33.3 |
| HuntMountain* | HNTM | 27 | 0.80 | 0.60 | 0.80 | +33.1 |
| US Antimony* | UAMY | 18 | 0.51 | 0.39 | 0.51 | +30.7 |
| Fischer-W Gld* | FWGO | 163 | 0.06 | 0.052 | 0.06 | +17.6 |
| Diamond Discv* | DMDD | 1104 | 0.007 | 0.007 | 0.007 | +16.6 |
| Linux Gold* | LNXGF | 1539 | 0.30 | 0.23 | 0.29 | +16.0 |
| Quest Capital* | QCC | 1486 | 3.10 | 2.53 | 2.88 | +11.6 |
| Cardero Res* | CDY | 127 | 1.60 | 1.38 | 1.60 | +8.8 |
| NT Holding* | NTHH | 22 | 0.40 | 0.23 | 0.23 | -42.5 |
| McKenzie Bay* | MKBY | 1115 | 0.25 | 0.161 | 0.161 | -35.6 |
| Michigan Gold* | MGGV | 906 | 0.008 | 0.005 | 0.005 | -28.5 |
| Rubicon Mnls* | RBY | 101 | 0.80 | 0.59 | 0.60 | -26.8 |
| Little Squaw* | LITS | 45 | 1.46 | 1.10 | 1.11 | -25.0 |
| HE-5 Res* | HRRN | 71 | 0.36 | 0.26 | 0.29 | -19.4 |
| Idaho Gen Mn* | GMO | 390 | 2.90 | 2.25 | 2.41 | -17.4 |
| Augusta Res* | AZC | 141 | 2.07 | 1.67 | 1.79 | -16.7 |
| Puda Coal* | PUDC | 918 | 1.34 | 1.015 | 1.12 | -16.4 |
| Birch Mountn* | BMD | 706 | 2.50 | 1.96 | 2.09 | -16.4 |
U.S. greatest value change
| VOLUME | CLOSE | CHANGE | ||
| Yanzhou Coal* | YZC | 280800 | 42.85 | +2.31 |
| Cabot Corp* | CBT | 930100 | 44.05 | +0.48 |
| Quest Capital* | QCC | 1486300 | 2.88 | +0.30 |
| Sao Luis Mng* | SAOL | 878354 | 0.62 | +0.27 |
| Homeland Pr M* | HPMEF | 116173 | 0.82 | +0.22 |
| HuntMountain* | HNTM | 27000 | 0.80 | +0.199 |
| Cardero Res* | CDY | 127200 | 1.60 | +0.13 |
| US Antimony* | UAMY | 18100 | 0.51 | +0.12 |
| Almaden Mnls* | AAU | 114100 | 2.34 | +0.09 |
| Peru Copper* | CUP | 548200 | 3.50 | +0.08 |
| Rio Tinto* | RTP | 1856100 | 198.33 | -14.16 |
| Teck Comin B* | TCK | 601800 | 67.89 | -7.46 |
| Soc Quim&M Ch* | SQM | 114200 | 129.65 | -5.92 |
| Potash C Sask* | POT | 3022400 | 137.95 | -5.53 |
| ASA (Bermuda)* | ASA | 186000 | 60.10 | -4.46 |
| Royal Gold* | RGLD | 1291004 | 31.92 | -3.995 |
| Alcan* | AL | 5205600 | 45.00 | -3.74 |
| Freeport McMo* | FCX | 23246900 | 52.25 | -3.48 |
| Lundin Mng* | LMC | 424300 | 33.40 | -3.46 |
| NACCO Ind* | NC | 59200 | 133.23 | -3.37 |
Be the first to comment on "U.S. Markets January 2 – 8"