Markets lose ground despite gold performance

Stock valuations for mining
companies have soared across the
globe. South Africa’s Anglogold
Ltd., the world’s biggest gold
producer, jumped 14%, or 52 rand,
on the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange. Newmont Mining was up
7/16 to US$28 1/4. Canada’s Barrick Gold
added another $7/8 to $25, and
Placer Dome chalked up
another US$1 to 16 3/16.

Gold and precious metals were
about the only sub-index that was
on the way up today on the TSE,
which finished down 17.49 to
2,744.26. Close to the end of the
day trading was halted in
Cadillac Fairview when the
company said it may put itself
on the auction block to boost its
share price.

Montreal also inched downward
another 8.35 to 3,651.96. But the
VSE’s penny mining stocks
continued to surge, leaving the
index up 3.67 to 416.96 in late
trading. Many five-cent-stocks saw
50% gains in their valuations on
the VSE. The ASE was also up 20.21
to 2828.01.

The malaise with other stocks is
being blamed largely on interest-
rate hike fears and a couple of
negative comments by US analysts.
The Federal Reserve Open Market
Committee meets Oct. 5 to set its
policy for inflation, and some say
there’s a 25% chance it will bump
up the US long-term interest rate
by 25 basis points for the third
consecutive time.

Ralph Acamora, a senior
technical analyst with Prudential
Securities in New York, sent an
internal report to the Prudential
salesforce that said a clear
negative trend has been set on the
Dow, and he is optimistically
predicting a 10,000 to 10,300
for the Dow at the end of the
millennium. Worst case? The
trend gets worse and the Dow
sees 8,900 t 9,000 at the end
of the year.

The Dow was down by as much as
200 points today, but rallied near
the end of the day as automatic
stock buying programs kicked in.
It closed down 55.40 to 10,247.
The S&P slipped 5,74 to 1277.57,
and Nasdaq lost 17.49, to close
at 2744.26.