U.S. Markets Jan. 29 -Feb. 4

Dismal economic news continued to spook the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, which trimmed its benchmarkovernight lending rate by another half a percentage point on Jan. 30 to prevent the economy from slipping into a recession. Despite slower economic growth, credit market turmoil and housing woes, U.S. equity markets posted slightly healthier gains during the Jan. 29-Feb. 4 trading session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 154.86 points to close at 12,635.16 during the period, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index inched up 18.52 points to close at 1,380.82.

The most actively traded stock was Brazilian iron ore giant Vale, with more than 134 million shares changing hands and closing US$3.51 higher at US$31.31. Barrick Gold was the second, with nearly 65 million shares traded. The company saw its shares drop US$4.22 to close at US$49.35.

Barrick wasn’t the only gold company to fare poorly, however. The entire sector was hit: the Amex Gold Bugs Index dropped 26.88 points to 438.93, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index fell 7.11 points to close at 180.24, and the price of gold fell US$22 to US$904.90 per oz. Newmont Mining nose-dived US$4.31 to US$50.91; Seabridge Gold sank US$3.72 to US$23.12; Agnico-Eagle Mines dropped US$2.95 to US$60.41; and Randgold Resources gave way US$2.82 to US$44.19.

The standout performer this week was Rio Tinto, which soared US$62.21 to US$432.16. State-owned miner Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, teamed up with Alcoa to buy a US$14-billion stake in Rio Tinto, or 12% of the company. Reuters news agency reported that Chinalco described the purchase as “a strategic

investment” and that it “had no plans to interfere in Rio’s management.”

Chinalco has made Rio more expensive, however, which isn’t great news for BHP Billiton’s US$120-billion bid for the company. Chinalco paid 60 a share, a 21% premium to

Rio’s London share price on Jan. 31.

Nonetheless, BHP’s stock climbed US$7.88 to close at US$72.48. On Jan. 30, BHP announced an agreement to supply China’s leading steelmaker, Baoshan Iron & Steel, with an additional 94 million tonnes of iron ore.

U. S. most active issues
VOLUME WEEK
( 000s) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE
Vale* RIO 134873 32.25 27.65 31.31 + 3.51
Barrick Gold* ABX 64982 54.00 48.49 49.35 – 4.22
Freeport McMo* FCX 62179 93.70 83.95 91.18 + 5.88
Alcoa* AA 58075 34.85 31.57 34.08 + 2.61
Gold Fields* GFI 51061 15.56 13.46 13.84 – 1.21
Newmont Mng* NEM 45903 56.89 50.89 50.91 – 4.31
Goldcorp* GG 42696 39.40 35.50 36.21 – 2.17
Coeur d Alene* CDE 41351 4.71 4.40 4.42 – 0.20
Potash C Sask* POT 38404 145.44 129.50 145.00 + 5.46
Peabody Enrgy* BTU 38188 60.00 48.47 55.22 – 4.08
U. S. greatest percentage change
VOLUME WEEK
( 000s) HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE
Apolo Gold* APLL 4165 0.085 0.037 0.072 + 94.5
Caledonia Mng* CALVF 28628 0.20 0.11 0.19 + 84.4
Pac Gold* PCFG 4311 0.10 0.046 0.087 + 74.0
McKenzie Bay* MKBY 1189 0.018 0.01 0.018 + 63.6
Evolving Gold* EVOGF 134 1.75 1.062 1.55 + 62.9
Shoshone Silv* SHSH 39 0.32 0.21 0.32 + 39.1
Stillwater Mg* SWC 11134 13.60 9.84 13.44 + 31.6
Westmoreland* WLB 272 15.306 11.19 14.65 + 29.7
Little Squaw* LITS 111 0.84 0.70 0.81 + 19.1
Intl Tower Hi* THM 193 2.40 1.70 2.11 + 17.8
Brookmount Ex* BMXI 250 0.38 0.24 0.25 – 37.5
Uranium Star* URST 586 0.19 0.12 0.12 – 36.8
FinMetal Mng* FNMM 675 0.20 0.115 0.115 – 32.3
HE- 5 Res* HRRN 276 0.08 0.045 0.06 – 29.4
Tara Gold* TRGD 1003 0.48 0.35 0.37 – 19.5
Douglas Lk Ml* DLKM 207 0.17 0.12 0.13 – 18.7
GoldMountain* GMEX 72 0.075 0.06 0.065 – 18.7
Puda Coal* PUDC 1316 0.74 0.55 0.58 – 17.7
Sparrowtech R* SPMC 558 0.03 0.027 0.027 – 15.6
Gemini Expl* GXPI 1232 0.109 0.075 0.093 – 14.6
U. S. greatest value change
WEEK
VOLUME CLOSE CHANGE
Rio Tinto* RTP 2753468 432.16 + 62.21
Southern Copp* PCU 12628684 98.44 + 12.35
Soc Quim& M Ch* SQM 340477 177.43 + 12.20
BHP Billi- BHP* BHP 26528413 72.48 + 7.88
BHP Billi- BBL* BBL 2957193 64.15 + 7.60
Freeport McMo* FCX 62179052 91.18 + 5.88
Mosaic* MOS 26014822 98.45 + 5.75
Potash C Sask* POT 38403869 145.00 + 5.46
Fording C C T* FDG 8542999 48.54 + 5.33
Arch Coal* ACI 26226724 48.31 + 5.15
Newmont Mng* NEM 45903144 50.91 – 4.31
Barrick Gold* ABX 64982117 49.35 – 4.22
Peabody Enrgy* BTU 38187578 55.22 – 4.08
Seabridge Gld* SA 1709540 2
3.12
– 3.72
Gold Mnrs ETF* GDX 17488051 48.15 – 3.06
Agnico- Eagle* AEM 13958692 60.41 – 2.95
Randgold Res* GOLD 5987203 44.19 – 2.82
Royal Gold* RGLD 2680373 28.57 – 2.78
Lihir Gold* LIHR 801363 31.85 – 2.31
Goldcorp* GG 42696072 36.21 – 2.17
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