US stocks march higher, Sept. 2-5

U.S. equities ended the week on a positive note, despite a weak jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39 points to 17,137.36, while the S&P 500 Index added 4 points to 2,007.71. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 3 points to 4,582.90. The spot price for gold, however, tumbled US$18.80 per oz. to US$1,268.40.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employers added 142,000 jobs in August, well below the expected 225,000. Investors took this as a sign that the Federal Reserve would wait longer before raising interest rates. The unemployment rate dropped from 6.2% to 6.1%.

Almaden Minerals got a boost after updating the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Ixtaca gold–silver deposit in Mexico. The updated PEA shows that the costs for the proposed 30,000-tonne-per-day operation could fall by 19% to US$399 million by mining the high-grade mineralization earlier in the 12-year mine life. The study also looked at starting with a smaller 7,000-tonne-per-day mine, estimated to cost US$244 million, and ramping up to 30,000 tonnes per day. Almaden is completing a prefeasibility study, expected out next year. It closed the week up 5.5% at US$1.51.

Golden, Colo.-based Golden Minerals took a hit after announcing a public offering and concurrent private placement to fund exploration of its Mexican properties, and for other working capital and general corporate purposes. The public offering consists of 3.7 million units, each containing one share and a half warrant, priced at 86¢ a unit, for gross proceeds of US$3.2 million. The company’s largest shareholder, the Sentient Group, is buying another 5.8 million units for US86¢ apiece in a private offering for gross proceeds of US$5 million. The firm, which was the week’s worst percentage performer, saw its shares fall 32% to US75¢.

Alcoa was the most heavily traded stock, with 46.6 million shares changing hands. The week before Alcoa said it would close its Portovesme primary aluminum smelter in Italy. The shutdown will lower Aloca’s global smelting capacity by 150,000 tonnes to 3.6 million tonnes per year. Alcoa closed relatively flat at US$17.28.

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