Bombings rattle markets

TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE

Stock markets south of the border had a shock from the terrorist bombings in London on July 7 but found their feet again to rally about 2% over the July 5-11 period. The S&P 500 index closed on July 11 at 1,219.44, up an even 25 points from the close before the Independence Day weekend.

The gold price was up only fractionally, to US$424.20 per oz. on July 11, but the gold equities were mainly better. The big one, Newmont Mining, wasn’t part of the trend, falling US27 to US$38.66, but the other heavyweight gold producers were, including AngloGold Ashanti, which added US19 to close at US$36.28; Gold Fields, which picked up US24 to finish at US$11.65; and Harmony Gold Mining, which was up US27 to end the period at US$8.88. Among smaller gold producers, Compania de Minas Buenaventura was US29 better at US$23.35 and Randgold Resources tacked on US13 to close at US$14.18. The best performance came from DRDGold, which was up US16 to US$1.07 for a gain of 15%.

Prices for the white goods were stronger, with palladium rising US$10.50 to US$182.50 per oz. and platinum up US$13 at US$873. That put some wind in Stillwater Mining‘s sails, as the stock gained US21 to finish at US$7.72.

Weakness in the oil price, which didn’t last past July 11, brought optimism about the general economy and boosted the base metal stocks. With workers at Asarco on strike, copper prices jumped and copper-sensitive stocks were among the best performers. Phelps Dodge vaulted US$6.26 to US$99.50, Asarco stablemate Southern Peru Copper jumped US$3.65 to US$46.53, and BHP Billiton added US82 to close at US$28.22. Another actively traded copper producer was Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, which rose US$1.70 to US$31.67.