US markets down in the June 1-4 trading week

Disappointing statistics on job recovery in the United States and comments from Hungary that it may be headed for a Greece-style debt crisis haunted U.S. equity markets on June 4 and pushed the euro down to a four-year low against the dollar. Spooked investors in US equities sold off shares in a major way with the S&P 500 closing Friday at its lowest level since Feb. 8. U.S. markets were closed on Monday May 31 for the Memorial Day holiday but for the rest of the trading week the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 92.05 points or 0.92% to finish at 9,931.97 points, while the S&P 500 index lost 5.83 points or 0.55% to 1,064.88. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.16 points or 0.14% to close at 2,219.17.

Base metals took a beating on worries about the robustness of China demand. Copper hit an eight-month low on June 4, sending Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, the second most actively traded stock of the week, plunging US$7.24 per share to close at US$62.81. Iron ore giant Cliffs Natural Resources tumbled US$6.64 to US$49.22 per share, BHP Billiton lost US$5.13 to close at US$59.71, and Teck sank US$3.11 to US$30.91 per share. Vale was down US$1.65 to US$25.54 per share.

The energy sector didn’t fare particularly well either, with Massey Energy down US$3.62 to US$29.50 per share, coal producer Alpha Natural Resources sinking US$4.27 to US$34.10, and Arch Coal falling 28¢ to US$21.27. Fertilizer plays were down too, with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan dropping US$4.35 to US$94.84 on no news, Agrium falling US$3.27 to US$51.62 and Mosaic dosing US$3.11 to US$43.06.

A handful of gold stocks enjoyed mild gains, with Buenaventura up 36¢ to US$36.36 and New Gold up 20¢ at US$6.27. Habanero Resources jumped 50% — the largest percentage gain of the week – to 15¢ on news that it was starting to drill its Haldane silver prospect in the Keno Hill silver district of the Yukon after a three-year hiatus. The Haldane prospect is near Alexco Resources’ Bellekeno mine, which is expected to enter production later this year. Its other Yukon prospect, White Gold, borders Underworld Resources, which recently agreed to a friendly takeover from Kinross Gold, and also lies directly north of Kaminak Gold’s 100%-owned Coffee project, where it recently drilled 17.1 grams gold per tonne over 15.5 metres.