STOCK MARKETS — Bulls and bears blunder blindly on TSE

The Toronto Stock Exchange rose fractionally between Feb. 28 and March 5, closing at 4,995.94, up 41.67 points (or 0.8%) on the week. Trading volume picked up slightly on the week, but, in general, the market seemed to be taking a slow ride sideways.

The Canadian dollar was steady against the U.S. dollar for most of the week, with the noon exchange rate on March 6 standing at US72.91 cents, up a modest 0.17 cents from a week before. The Loony was stronger against all the other major foreign currencies.

Weaker physical demand pulled the rug from under the gold price this week. The London bullion dealers’ morning auction on March 6 fixed the price at US$393.60, $4.10 lower than a week before.

Silver suffered too, slipping 10 cents to US$5.36 per oz., and platinum was off $1.65 to US$406.35 per oz.

The TSE gold and precious metals sub-index, like a fun-house mirror, reflected the 1% fall in the gold price with a 3.1% drop in the index. The sub-index closed March 5 at 12,158.32, down 392.22 points. Echo Bay Mines experienced the heaviest trading and fell $1.12 to $18.12. Placer Dome lost $2 to $37.75 and Barrick Gold lost $2.12 to close at $40.

Moving against the trend were Goldcorp, up $1.12 to $25.62, and Hemlo Gold, up 25 cents to $17. An announcement of a diamond find by Guyanor Ressources brought parent Golden Star Resources to $13, a gain of $4.12 on the week. Guyanor was up as well, adding $4.88 to close at $8.25. Golden Star also announced a $18-million unit offering had closed.

Nickel slumped this week on the London Metal Exchange, falling 14 cents for the second week in a row and landing at US$3.45 per lb. Lead also lost ground this week, falling 1 cents to US34 cents, while zinc was unchanged at US47 cents. Copper was up slightly to US$1.16 per lb.

Base metal miners did well on the week, with the TSE metals and minerals index adding 117.37 points (2.2%) to close March 5 at 5,286.38. Inco was the most heavily traded, taking on 75 cents to close at $45.38. Other nickel issues were lower, with Diamond Fields Resources down $1.62 to $36.75 and Falconbridge down 12 cents to $28.62. Sherritt was unchanged at $19.12, despite weak nickel prices and anxiety over its investments in Cuba.

Noranda was 38 cents higher at $26.88, and Kerr Addison was up $1.50 to $28.50. Kerr’s board announced its approval of Noranda’s bid for the remaining shares of Kerr.

Cameco continued its climb, adding $1.75 to close at $75.25. Teck’s B-series shares were up 88 cents to $28.38. Denison Mines traded heavily, following a restructuring, and was up 9 cents to 47 cents.

Active junior issues included Arequipa Resources, off $1.50 to $11.75, and Aber Resources, up $2.75 to $15.25 following the announcements of results from a property in the Northwest Territories.

Large losses were registered by Northwestern Quebec explorer Globex Mining, which was down $1.50 to $3.75, as well as by Win-Eldrich Mines, down 12 cents to 30 cents, and Highwood Resources, down 31 cents to 84 cents.

Montreal-listed Minorca Resources jumped $2.38 to $6, following an announcement that it planned to acquire a 4.2% interest in the Busang deposit in Indonesia. The deposit is now being explored by Bre-X Minerals, which was disputing the right of the vendor, Indonesian company Askatindo Karya Minerals, to sell its interest without the consent of its other partners.

Another Montreal-listed junior, QEX Resources, added 26 cents to close at 51 cents after it was announced that it had intersected gold mineralization at its Calumet Island project in the Ottawa Valley.

Other Montreal listings with large price moves were Golden Briar Mines, up 15 cents to 30 cents, and Dianor Resources, up 32 cents to 80 cents. Both companies control ground along the boundary of Rouyn and Beauchastel twps. in northwestern Quebec. Palace Explorations added 4 cents to close at 19 cents, with 3.3 million shares traded.