STOCK MARKET — Mines left gasping as TSE sets records

The Toronto Stock Exchange composite index set four records in five trading days over the report period Sept. 18-24, to finish at 5299.66 points, up 31.18 points, or 0.6%, on the week.

Trading volumes remained high, with the daily volume twice breaking 90 million shares. The leading sectors were transportation, banking and retail stocks, while the resource stocks had a bad week.

The Canadian dollar was higher against most of the major foreign currencies, trading at US73.18 cents at noon on Sept. 25, up 28 basis points from a week before. The only major foreign unit to rise against the Loony was the French franc. The Bank of Canada is still holding the line against any further declines in interest rates.

Gold bullion strengthened late in the report period, to reach US$383.25 per oz. on the London morning fix on Sept. 25. That meant a net gain of 35 cents on the week, mirrored by platinum’s 50 cents rise to US$388.25. Silver and palladium did the suffering in the precious metals group, with silver off 11 cents to US$4.94 per oz. and palladium down $3.50 to US$119 per oz.

The TSE gold and precious minerals sub-index was off fractionally to 11,524.21, a loss of 0.5% over the report period. TVX Gold experienced the heaviest trading on the week, with 4.6 million shares moving. TVX closed 40 cents lower at $9.85.

Bema Gold lost a little of the magic, shedding 40 cents to finish at $10.40.

Trading was also heavy, at 4.4 million shares. Bema’s Vancouver-listed partner, Arizona Star Resources, was also lower, falling 50 cents to $11.10.

Pegasus Gold fell 45 cents to $14.15 and takeover target Dayton Mining was off 40 cents at $10.20.

Other actively traded golds were Placer Dome, which was 15 cents lower at $33.85, Barrick Gold, off 25 cents at $36.35, and Kinross Gold, down 5 cents to $10.20. Larger price moves included Euro-Nevada Mining, up $4 to $40.95, and Golden Star Resources, down $2.25 to $20.55.

The base metals had a rocky week on the London Metal Exchange, with most of the metals losing ground. Aluminum was hardest-hit, falling 2 cents to US61 cents per lb.; nickel fell 7 cents to US$3.24; and zinc and lead both lost fractionally. Copper was spared, finishing the Sept. 25 ring at US88 cents per lb., but not before touching US84 cents on Sept. 23.

TSE base metal issues fell about 2.9%, with the sub-index falling 148.15 points to 5,047.30. The most active on the board was Inmet Mining, which added 75 cents to finish the report period at $9.95. Inco was down $1.60 to close at $42.35, Noranda fell 75 cents for a close of $27.80, and Cameco lost $1.30, finishing at $67.50.

Other metal miners also had a tough week. Falconbridge was off $1.45 at $27.75, Rio Algom fell 95 cents to $25.55, and Aur Resources fell to $7.25 for a loss of 45 cents.

Goldstake Exploration was again the story of the Toronto junior board. The Indonesian prospector fell $1.15 to $2.40 following last week’s speculative fever.

Montreal juniors were led by Bresea Resources, which added 25 cents to close at $16.30. Interlisted Bre-X Minerals went up 15 cents to $27.30, while Bresea’s joint-venture partners in Kalimantan were also higher — Tandem Resources at $2.25, up 5 cents, and Diadem Resources at $7.85, up 25 cents.

The biggest price move on Place Victoria was in Great Lakes Nickel, which doubled to 70 cents from 35 cents in very light trading — 18,000 shares over the week. There was no news from the company. Also on the move was Yorbeau Resources, up 15 cents at 48 cents on a volume of 906,000 shares.