U.S. Markets (March 17, 2008)

The U. S. markets plunged lower during the March 4-10 trading period as mounting credit market losses had investors wondering how cool the economy will get.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sunk 4.2% or 518.75 points to 11,740.15, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index tumbled 4.4% or 57.97 points to 1,273.37, reaching its lowest level since September 2006.

Even the Amex Gold Bugs Index fell 6.1% as spot gold slid US$10.50 in New York to US$973 per oz.

The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index fell 6.9%, or 13.93 points, to 189.05.

Vale was the most actively traded stock over the period with 110 million shares traded, closing US$3.33 lower at US$31.67. Coeur d’Alene Mines was a distant second with 75 million shares changing hands, falling US46 to US$31.67.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Goldand Alcoa saw 73.2 million and 71.6 million shares traded, respectively. Alcoa lost US$9.48, closing at US$93.97 per share, while Alcoa was down US$2.68 to US$35.64.

Some of the biggest value gainers over the period did not have much news to share with the market — New Gold was up US70 to US$7.70 on no news, while Hunt Mountain Resources rose US17 to US80 — the company appointed a new president, James Sabala, former vice-president and chief financial officer of Coeur d’Alene Mines. Minco Gold shares gained US14 to US$1.37 after the company released assays from six diamond- drill holes from its Changkeng gold project, in Guangdong province, China. Results included 26.8 metres grading 7.83 grams gold per tonne, including a 14.8-metre section grading 12.23 grams gold.

Base metals heavyweight Rio Tinto saw the greatest loss over the period, falling US$34.90 per share to US$419.10. The company sold off its 30% stake in the Corani silver- lead-zinc project in Peru for US$75 million to majority partner Bear Creek Mining. It still holds 7.5% of Bear Creek shares. Just a few weeks earlier, Rio sold off its 40% stake in the Cortez property, in Nevada, for nearly US$1.7 billion.

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