Morning Market Breakdown, March 2: Markets Struggle, Commodities Rise

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) spent much of Thursday (March 1) struggling in the red to finally close at 15,393.95, a 48.73-point loss.

It continued to slide on Friday morning (March 2), reaching 15,345.99, a drop of 47.96 points.

Thursday was an up-and-down day for the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX), but it squeezed into the green with a close of 829.32, a 0.2-point gain. Friday morning saw a fall as the index hit 824.95 points.

Closing in the red for the third consecutive day was the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI), which dropped 415.06 points to 24,608.98 on Thursday. The Dow continued to slip on Friday morning, hitting 24,310.41 by 10:00 a.m. EST.

The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) saw a small drop on Thursday when it went down 37.55 points, ending the day at 2,677.67. The S&P took a small tumble on Friday morning as it fell to 2,657.97 points.

Note: All numbers shown above were accurate as of 10:00 a.m. EST.

Daily metals

Gold may have closed at US$1,317.18 an ounce on Thursday, but it started picking up traction Friday morning when it reached US$1,323.48 by 10:00 a.m. EST. Silver closed at US$16.48 an ounce on Thursday, but made progress Friday morning as it grew to US$16.51 by 10:00 a.m. EST.

Copper closed at US$3.12 per pound Thursday, but slipped to US$3.11 by 10:00 a.m. EST on Thursday.

Major miner news

• Nevsun Resources (TSX:NSU): Nevsun Resources announced its Q4 and annual financial results for 2017. Highlights include improved metallurgical and mining processes at its Bisha mine in Eritea, and the production of 210.4 million pounds of zinc in zinc concentrate. The company also said it has received a decline exploration permit from the Serbian Ministry of Mining and Energy for its Timok upper zone project

• Stratex International (LSE:STI): Stratex International has made a deal with IAMGOLD (TSX:IMG,NYSE:AIG) subsidiary AGEM Senegal Exploration regarding Stratex’s Dalafin gold project. The deal entails AGEM acquiring a 51-percent stake in the project once it contributes US$4 million to it over a four-year period; after that point a joint venture will be created between the companies.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.