Trading Summary (March 15, 2002)

The Toronto Stock Exchange was generally higher Friday, with the TSE 300 composite index rising 43.04 points to 7,871.68, a gain of just over half a percent. Most of the sectors advanced, with only the golds, industrial products, and conglomerate groups taking significant losses.

The metals and minerals subgroup was the star of the market, adding 101.02 points, or just over 2% of value, to close at 4,749.76. Although Alcan, the heavyweight of the sector, was up $1.34 to $64.60, other metal miners contributed too: Inco was up 85 at $31.38, Noranda added 30 to close at $17.65, and Cameco picked up 96 to end the day at $46.98.

The big winner was Teck Cominco, which tacked on 60 or 4% of value to close at $14.75.

There was generalized misery in the gold sector, with the consolidation darlings — Agnico Eagle, Goldcorp, and Meridian Gold — taking the worst hit. Meridian was off $1.40 at $17.14, Goldcorp fell $1.26 to $22.35, and Agnico slid 45 to $17.48.

Barrick Gold was the most active, with 2 million shares moving, and it slipped 29 to $27.51. Placer Dome was also heavily traded but managed to move up, adding 13 to finish at $17.28.

On the CDNX, International Wayside Exploration was the most active junior explorer, with 1.3 million shares changing hands. It rose 4 to close at 14. Another heavy trader was Spider Resources, which tacked on a penny to finish at 11; Spider announced results from its diamond project in north-central Ontario.