NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - Shares of gold miners were broadly lower
Wednesday, with a slide in gold prices to a 5-week low and below a key technical
level weighing heavily on the sector.
The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) slumped 3.8% to $42.02, and has now
lost 17% since the July 14 close. The intraday low of $41.82 was the lowest
price seen since May 1.
Among the sector tracking stock's more heavily-weighted components, Barrick
Gold dropped 6% to $40.04, Goldcorp Inc. slid 5.9% to $37.28, Newmont Mining
gave up 1.6% to $47.20, Kinross Gold shed 3.5% to $17.60, Agnico Eagle Mines
lost 3.5% to $54 and Yamana Gold slid 4.1% to $11.80.
Putting pressure on the sector, December gold futures tumbled $20.60 to
$905.80 an ounce. The intraday low of $902.70 an ounce was the lowest price seen
since June 26.
Separately, the price fell below the 200-day simple moving average, which
was at $908.96 on Wednesday. Many chart watchers view the 200-day SMA as a
trigger point between a bull and bear market.
In comparison, the GDX was well below its 200-day SMA ($47.86), and so were
the stocks mentioned above.
Gold prices were being pressured by strength in the U.S. dollar. The US
Dollar Index was up 0.2% at 73.435, and hit a 5-week high of 73.54 in intraday
trading. The 200-day SMA for the dollar tracker is at 74.21.
Tomi Kilgore
tk1
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