U.S. Markets November 13-19

The losses from the previous period in the United States equity markets spilled over to the Nov. 13-19 trading session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 29.11 points to 12,958.44 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 5.91 points to 1,433.27.

And copper continued its descent, falling US13 to US$3.01 per lb., reaching a 7-month low as new figures showed that imports from China, the world’s largest consumer of copper, fell 5.6% last month.

The price of gold plunged US$38.15 to US$778.85 per oz. and the major gold stocks also fell.

Newmont Mining shares declined US$1.29 to US$48.57. The company is in the midst of deciding whether to spin off and publicly list its US$1-billion mining and energy royalty subsidiary, Franco-Nevada, or sell it.

Anglogold Ashanti dropped US$1.98 to US$42.68 and Gold Fields shed US65 to close at US$17.09.

Mid-tier gold producer Hecla Mining was up US61 to US$11.11, but Coeur d’Alene Mines slid US20 to US$3.93.

The base metal producers also lost ground. Rio Tinto stock fell US$19.83 to US$416.05 while the world’s biggest mining company, BHP Billiton, saw US60 shaved off its share price, closing the week at US$70.84.

BHP, which proposed a US$138-billion all-share bid for Rio, was in South Korea to dispel opposition from major Asian companies. BHP spoke with the world’s fourth-biggest steel producer, POSCO, about the good side of the mega-merger, which BHP estimates would create US$3.7 billion in annual savings after seven years through synergies.

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce stock was the most actively traded with more than 117 million shares changing hands over the period, but it was the only one on the list to show a gain. CVRD shares reached a high of US$36.87, but the stock closed just US77 higher over the period at US$33.63, which was partially blamed on growing concerns over U.S. credit market losses.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold was the second on the list with 80 million shares traded. Freeport shares fell US$6.75 to US$92.50 amidst falling copper prices.

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