A credit crunch stemming from U.S. mortgage losses continued to roil U.S. markets this week and the impact was felt around the world. The European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Bank of Canada all claimed that the market turmoil could affect their monetary decisions. The release on Aug. 27 of the S&P/Case-Schiller U.S. National Home Price Index, showing the glut of unsold homes rose to a 16-year high, crushed any hope that the home loan crisis was easing.
On Aug. 28, the Conference Board reported consumer confidence weakened sharply in August — the biggest drop since September 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — heightening dread about the fallout from the housing slump. With a housing recession, Americans find it harder to tap housing equity to finance the spending that accounts for the lion’s share of the economy.
Concern that the subprime mortgage rout in the U.S. is spreading and will erode global economic growth has also affected markets in Europe and Asia. On Aug. 28, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said that the subprime crisis in financial markets has made it difficult for the group to gauge demand for crude oil.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index finished the Aug. 21-27 trading session up 21.24 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 200.78 points to finish at 13,322.130.
Among the most actively traded stocks during the period were Alcoa, up US$2.66 to US$36.98, and the world’s largest publicly traded copper company, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, which rose US$5.76 to $85.72. Alcan shares were up US$2.59 to US$97.96 apiece.
Despite economic worries and concerns over housing strength, Rio Tinto experienced the largest value change over the period, surging US$25.58 to US$271.99 per share on trading volume of 22.3 million shares. BHP Billiton rose US$5.49 to US$62.01 and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce climbed US8 to US$48.32.
Other high performers included China’s Yanzhou Coal, with a US$24.75 leap to $93.00 per share, and Southern Copper, which climbed US$12.28 to US$103.62. Cleveland-Cliffs also fared well, adding US$8.57 to close at US$72.69 per share.
U.S. most active issues
VOLUME(000s) | HIGH | LOW | CLOSE | CHANGE | ||
CVRD* | RIO | 79593 | 49.28 | 39.44 | 48.32 | +8.00 |
Alcoa* | AA | 69401 | 37.47 | 34.02 | 36.98 | +2.66 |
Freeport McMo* | FCX | 46623 | 87.89 | 79.11 | 85.72 | +5.76 |
Goldcorp* | GG | 35771 | 23.60 | 21.35 | 22.93 | +1.31 |
Newmont Mng* | NEM | 30223 | 41.45 | 39.50 | 40.45 | +0.57 |
Coeur d Alene* | CDE | 25142 | 3.47 | 3.26 | 3.34 | -0.11 |
Barrick Gold* | ABX | 22639 | 33.90 | 31.50 | 32.13 | +0.26 |
Alcan* | AL | 19853 | 98.09 | 95.45 | 97.96 | +2.59 |
Gold Fields* | GFI | 19527 | 15.22 | 13.84 | 14.56 | +0.40 |
Peabody Enrgy* | BTU | 19444 | 42.93 | 39.91 | 41.43 | +0.51 |
U.S. greatest percentage change
VOLUME(000s) | HIGH | LOW | CLOSE | CHANGE | ||
El Capitan Pr* | ECPN | 1880 | 0.75 | 0.42 | 0.70 | +62.7 |
Uranium Star* | URST | 427 | 0.40 | 0.28 | 0.40 | +37.9 |
Yanzhou Coal* | YZC | 614 | 93.44 | 70.00 | 93.00 | +36.2 |
Douglas Lk Ml* | DLKM | 54 | 0.41 | 0.31 | 0.38 | +26.6 |
Golden Eagle* | MYNG | 8406 | 0.017 | 0.011 | 0.015 | +25.0 |
Wealth Minls* | WMLLF | 54 | 2.90 | 2.25 | 2.90 | +22.3 |
Little Squaw* | LITS | 58 | 0.90 | 0.72 | 0.90 | +20.0 |
CVRD* | RIO | 79593 | 49.28 | 39.44 | 48.32 | +19.8 |
Cream Mnrls* | CRMXF | 113 | 0.49 | 0.424 | 0.447 | +17.9 |
Anooraq Res* | ANO | 3043 | 3.06 | 2.60 | 3.04 | +17.3 |
Apolo Gold* | APLL | 651 | 0.049 | 0.035 | 0.038 | -22.4 |
HE-5 Res* | HRRN | 49 | 0.165 | 0.13 | 0.13 | -18.7 |
Geocom Res* | GOCM | 68 | 0.21 | 0.17 | 0.172 | -18.1 |
New Jersey Mg* | NJMC | 178 | 0.45 | 0.34 | 0.37 | -17.7 |
Global Gold* | GBGD | 55 | 0.75 | 0.595 | 0.595 | -15.0 |
Evolving Gold* | EVOGF | 46 | 0.42 | 0.30 | 0.30 | -14.2 |
Bullion Rvr G* | BLRV | 1735 | 0.389 | 0.265 | 0.34 | -12.6 |
Cusac Gold Mn* | CUSIF | 235 | 0.165 | 0.128 | 0.155 | -11.4 |
AmMex Gold* | AMXG | 151 | 0.32 | 0.26 | 0.29 | -9.3 |
Seabridge Gld* | SA | 3911 | 26.15 | 21.01 | 22.43 | -9.3 |
U.S. greatest value change
WEEK VOLUME | CLOSE | CHANGE | ||
Rio Tinto* | RTP | 2239300 | 271.99 | +25.58 |
Yanzhou Coal* | YZC | 614300 | 93.00 | +24.75 |
Southern Copp* | PCU | 12560273 | 103.62 | +12.28 |
Cleveland-Cli* | CLF | 7637389 | 72.69 | +8.57 |
CVRD* | RIO | 79593075 | 48.32 | +8.00 |
Potash C Sask* | POT | 11418350 | 85.77 | +6.61 |
Freeport McMo* | FCX | 46622642 | 85.72 | +5.76 |
BHP Billi-BHP* | BHP | 18322842 | 62.01 | +5.49 |
BHP Billi-BBL* | BBL | 875300 | 56.52 | +5.15 |
Agrium* | AGU | 3361700 | 44.54 | +5.01 |
Royal Gold* | RGLD | 2561844 | 26.79 | -2.71 |
Seabridge Gld* | SA | 3911300 | 22.43 | -2.30 |
Arch Coal* | ACI | 14095474 | 29.90 | -0.58 |
Minefinders* | MFN | 779870 | 8.71 | -0.46 |
APEX Silver* | SIL | 1241700 | 17.27 | -0.44 |
Tanz Roy Exp* | TRE | 1719800 | 4.86 | -0.40 |
Metallica Res* | MRB | 554900 | 3.58 | -0.28 |
Allied Nevada* | ANV | 132400 | 4.05 | -0.27 |
US Gold* | UXG | 52900 | 5.90 | -0.25 |
Banro Res* | BAA | 29400 | 10.00 | -0.18 |
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