MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — U.S. MARKETS — Dow, metals hold steady

The Dow Jones industrial average sustained a minor loss for the report period ended July 27, falling 17.06 points, or 0.2%, to close at 10,979.06.

Mining issues were mixed heading into quarterly earnings season, while commodity prices held steady. Homestake Mining picked up 31 cents to close at US$7.81 after reporting second-quarter income of US$100,000 (nil per share) on heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Class A and B shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold gained 25 cents and 31 cents to close at US$16.50 and US$17.50, respectively. The company posted earnings of US$19 million (12 cents per share) for the quarter.

Asarco posted a loss of 53 cents per share, sending shares down 38 cents to US$17.62, while its merger partner, Cyprus Amax Minerals, slipped 31 cents to finish the week at US$12.88.

Mid-size Meridian Gold posted a loss of 7 cents per share, on par with last year’s second quarter, sending shares up US19 cents to US$4.19.

Among the big movers for the week, Phelps Dodge dove $6.25 to close at US$57.69, though no explanation for the movement was provided.

Australia’s Broken Hill Proprietary sank 93 cents to US$22.69 and Rio Tinto lost 94 cents to finish at US$69.56, as copper prices edged slightly lower to 75 cents per lb. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Southern Peru Copper slid 44 cents to US$14.06 after the company stated that adverse weather had reduced production by 60 million lbs.

Gold producer Newmont Mining advanced $1 to US$16.06 and Anglogold added 37 cents to close at US$20.31 amid a minor improvement in the gold price, to US$254.40, on Comex. Peru’s Buenaventura rose $1 to US$15.