Gold prices slip as market soars
By Myra P. Saefong, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 2:30 PM ET Nov. 4, 2002
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Strength in the broader U.S. stock market provided a lift to shares of major metals companies Monday, but lured investors away from the safe haven of gold futures.
On the Commodities Exchange division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, December gold closed at $318.70 an ounce, down 50 cents.
Stocks advanced Monday, with a heady Microsoft rally firing up the major indexes. Revved-up expectations for a Fed rate cut this week also kept investors giddy. See Market Snapshot.
In recent dealings, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU: news, chart, profile) traded at 8,666, up 149 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPQ: news, chart, profile) added 50 points to 1,412.
"The movements of the stock markets will continue to have the prime effect on prices," said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management.
Even with the latest decline in gold, Kaplan still believes that "gold will indeed see its day in the sun, but the historic 'triggers', events or market conditions that would have produced investment in gold, simply aren't working anymore."
Poor economic numbers unleashed over the past few weeks has convinced the market that the central bank will slice the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 1.5 percent when the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meets on Wednesday.
The expectations has "introduced an element of uncertainty to the current economic outlook," said Grady Garrett, chief trading strategist at EnergyTrendAlert.com, a commodity information provider.
He posed a question that's likely on investor's minds: "With rates so low, does an additional rate cut mean the Fed believes the economic situation is in danger of deteriorating further?"
Silver, copper inch up
Among other metals futures on Comex, the December contract for silver closed at $4.487 an ounce, down 0.3 cent.
Platinum for January delivery closed at $575.70 an ounce, down $1.90, while December palladium rose $2.70 to $312.45 an ounce.
December copper tacked on 0.25 cent to 72.85 cents a pound and December aluminum slipped 0.2 cent to 65.7 cents a pound.
As of late Friday, gold inventories at Comex stood at 1.995 million troy ounces, down 2,162 troy ounces from the previous day. Silver inventories were down 442,632 at 107.9 million troy ounces. Copper stocks were up 130 short tons at 381,589 short tons.
Metals indexes turn higher
Indexes for shares of major metals stocks reversed course Monday afternoon, to follow the broader equity market higher. The gains come on top of the more than 4 percent rise seen on Friday.
The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index ($XAU: news, chart, profile) stood at 67.09, up 1 percent. The CBOE Gold Index ($GOX: news, chart, profile) added 0.6 percent to 53.98 and the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI: news, chart, profile) traded at 117.14, up 1.4 percent from the previous session.
Among components of the metals indexes, Shares of Placer Dome Gold (PDG: news, chart, profile) climbed 44 cents to $9.44 and Meridian Gold (MDG: news, chart, profile) climbed by 5 cents to $17.22. Newmont Mining (NEM: news, chart, profile) added 6 cents to $25.54.
Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold (FCX: news, chart, profile) traded at $13.07, up 29 cents, Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI: news, chart, profile) stood at $11.92, up 7 cents. Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM: news, chart, profile) shares tacked on 1 cent to $12.38. Anglogold (AU: news, chart, profile) shares also climbed 48 cents to $27.64.
Stillwater Mining (SWC: news, chart, profile), a major palladium and platinum producer, rose 20 cents to $7.49.
________________________________________________
Myra P. Saefong is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco. |
