Dow Jones edges higher

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 122.24 points, or 1.1%, during the report period ended April 11 to close at 11,287.08, as investors continued fleeing high-tech stocks on the Nasdaq.

Spot gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange responded negatively, falling to US$281.20 per oz. and spelling bad news for producers. AngloGold led the losers by falling $1.69 to US$22.62, despite having signed two major deals, for a half-interest in the Geita project in Tanzania and in the Morila project in Mali.

Nasdaq-listed Harmony Gold Mining dropped 56 to close at US$5.50, while Randgold dipped 63 to US$3.12. New York Stock Exchange-listed Newmont Mining lost 31 to close at US$23.19, though Meridian Gold bucked the trend, gaining 50 to close at US$6.31.

Copper companies fell as spot prices held at US78 per lb. Class A shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold declined $1.31 to US$10.69; Australia’s Broken Hill Proprietary plunged $1.82 to US$21.12; Phelps Dodge edged down 43 to US$46.19; Rio Tinto was off 31 to US$68.25; and Southern Peru Copper was down 56 to US$12.19.

Platinum-miner Stillwater Mining continued sliding, down 63 to US$39.75, while De Beers Consolidated Mines picked up 81 to close at US$23.31.

Among the juniors, Canyon Resources filed a lawsuit against Montana over its McDonald gold project, hoping to overturn a ban on cyanide in the state. The stock was down 12 to US$1.38. Meanwhile, MK Gold added 13 to close at US94.