STOCK MARKETS — Stocks, bonds and dollar stage a rebound

North American stock markets finished the week on an upbeat note as investors re-entered the fray in search of bargains.

On April 5, the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 index rallied 43.19 points to 4,273.29, putting an end to a downward trend that saw the index fall 6.7% over the report period.

The bond markets staged a strong comeback, as did the Canadian dollar which closed up two-thirds of a cent at US72.27 cents.

Gold bullion prices continued to move lower on the week, with the London afternoon fix (April 15) pegged at US$383.90.

The falling gold price dragged down many of the senior gold producers: American Barrick Resources lost $1.75 to close at $33.50; Echo Bay Mines fell $1 to $16.88; Lac Minerals was off 38 cents to $11.50; while Placer Dome was the big loser, closing down $2.13 to $32.25 on a volume of more than 3.38 million shares.

Mid-level producers also had a rough week with Royal Oak Mines, TVX Gold and Cambior, all down 25 cents.

On the junior gold scene, Wheaton River Minerals, despite posting a net income of $1.8 million last year, lost 35 cents to close at $3.40. Wheaton owns and operates the Golden Bear mine in northern British Columbia. St Andrew Goldfields continued to buck the downward trend, closing up 19 cents at $1.20 on a volume of 305,800 shares. St Andrew’s sister company, Bachelor Lake Gold Mines, is in the process of amalgamating with Espalau Mining of Val d’Or, Que.

Cuban explorer Caribgold Resources dropped a quarter on the week to close at $4.30, just above its 52-week low of $4.05.

Other stocks on the losing side were Holloway joint-venture partners Hemlo Gold Mines, Freewest and Teddy Bear Valley Mines which trades on the Canadian Dealing Network. It would seem that investors did not take a shine to the partners’ plans for the development of the Holloway project. Teddy Bear dropped 25 cents to close at $4, while Freewest and Hemlo Gold each dropped half a dollar to close at $3.40 and $13.50, respectively.

Another company that took a hit was Dakota Mining, whose shares edged downward 35 cents to close at $3.80.

Bucking the general market malaise was Kinross Gold. After starting the week at $5.38, the company rose to $6.25 before settling down to end the week at $5.88. Weekly volume was a lofty 1.44 million shares.

Another gainer on the week was Sudbury Contact Mines. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $7.50 with a gain of $2 on the week. The company is continuing to drill on the Victoria Creek gold project in northeastern Ontario.

NSR Resources and Tintina Mines continued to draw investor interest. Both companies gained ground, with NSR jumping 24 cents to close at 90 cents on a volume of 981,000 shares and Tintina closing at $2.25, up 65 cents on a volume of 164,000 shares. The only news the companies released was that they had acquired an additional 2.5-sq.-mile parcel of ground adjoining their Fort MacKay property in northeastern Alberta.

Companies searching for diamonds in Northwest Territories were also active in the markets. Lytton Minerals gained 35 cents to close at $4.80 with a volume of 227,400 shares. Another diamond stock with high volume was Pure Gold Resources. The company traded more than 2.8 million shares but didn’t fair as well as Lytton, shedding 2 cents to close at 61 cents. Pure Gold’s partner, Ashton Mining, also lost ground, drifting downward by 8 cents to close at $2.40 on more than 261,000 shares.

Caledonia Mining continued to advance, hitting a new 52-week high of $7.88, up $3.75 on the week. Vice-president Warren MacLeod believes the price increase may be due to buy recommendations from U.S. newsletters and speculation about the company’s diamond holdings in the Northwest Territories. Great Lakes Minerals, while not very actively traded during our report week, posted an incredible daily volume of 3.4 million shares. The shares were traded in several large blocks.