STOCK MARKET — Eastern markets still riding high

The Toronto Stock Exchange composite 300 index continued to ride high in the period Oct. 2-8, hitting new records on four of the five trading days.

The index closed out the week at 5436.54, up almost 107 points, or 2%, from the previous week.

The Canadian dollar had a strong week, climbing steadily to finish the period up almost 40 basis points, to US73.81 cents.

The Loony also gained against the other major foreign currencies, notably the British pound, against which it gained nearly 2 cents, and against the normally tough Swiss franc.

The TSE gold and precious metals sub-index was virtually unchanged on the week, gaining a mere 125.14 points, or 0.13%, to close at 11,349.32.

The price of gold rose US$1.70, climbing back above the US$380-per-oz. mark after a bad week. Spot prices of most other metals were up this week, with the exception of silver, which dropped US3 cents to close at US$4.88 per oz.

The price of platinum rose 50 cents over the period, after falling slightly in mid-week, while palladium dropped more than $3, closing at US$119.25.

The TSE base metals sub-index was virtually unchanged for the week, losing just 27 points to close out the period at 5,008.68.

The most active issue over our report period was Bre-X Minerals. The junior company has been on a involuntary see-saw ride since press reports suggested that one of its Indonesian partners was looking for a bigger piece of the Southeast zone at the Busang property in East Kalimantan. The issue was off $1.20 at $25.30. However, most mining analysts predict the dispute will be resolved shortly, without disrupting Bre-X’s plans to sell all or part of the Busang deposit to a major partner. The list of possible contenders includes Placer Dome, RTZ and, possibly, some of the major South African mining houses which have been relative latecomers to the international gold game.

Meanwhile, Bre-X’s major shareholder and sister company, Bresea Resources, was off 50 cents at $15 in active trading on the Montreal Exchange.

Uranium producer Cameco was another busy trader, up $1.20 at $68.20. Healthy uranium prices are helping the company’s bottom line, and new gold projects are adding lustre to its portfolio. The list of international projects includes the soon-to-be-launched Kumptor gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan.

Texas Star Resources is attracting interest because of its involvement in the Crater of Diamonds project in U.S. President Bill Clinton’s home state of Arkansas. The site has generated plenty of diamonds from surface diggings, including a large yellow stone worn by Hillary Clinton at her husband’s inauguration ball. Texas Star was up 34 cents at 85 cents.

First Dynasty was off a dime at $4.15. The company is one of several bidding for the Vasilkovskoye gold deposit in Kazakhstan. At one time, the consortium had an exclusive bidding period, but this expired before a deal could be struck. Negotiations are continuing, though progress appears to be slow, and some shareholders appear to be getting impatient. First Dynasty’s main asset, however, is an interest in the producing Ponkgor gold mine in Indonesia, a joint-venture with an Indonesian state-owned mining company.

Mispec Resources was another active trader on the Montreal Exchange over our report period, up 80 cents at $3.85. The junior issued a release stating that it is unaware of any material event that would explain the rise in its share price, though it conceded that a drill program is under way at its Jampang gold property in Java. The property has a number of large, gold-bearing structures, several of which were previously explored by the Dutch. In more recent times, it was examined (and given the thumbs-up) by geologist Michael de Guzman, of Bre-X fame.