News

June 20, 2009

That Was The Week That Was ... In Australia

By Our Man in Oz

Minews. Good morning Australia. A tough week at the office?

Oz. Awful is the best description of a five-day losing streak, even if Friday was only down a fraction. Overall, the mining market dropped by 9.6 per cent, double the fall posted by the all ordinaries which fell 4.1 per cent. That simple measure tells you how the selling was focussed on resources, which is hardly surprising given weaker fuel and metal prices. If there was bright spot, and this really is a case of grasping at straws, a couple of “discovery” stocks swam against the tide, indicating that investors are still amenable to a bit of good news from the field.

Minews. Let’s have the few bits of good news first to brighten our day, then your version of gloom.

Oz. Shield Mining (SHX), which we covered in a mid-week report, was the best performer, but in paper-thin trading. At the time of our report, the stock had risen by A4.5 cents to A20 cents, and its last sale for the week added another half a cent to take the closing price to A20.5 cents. The stock has an interesting exploration story to tell, but the lack of much market depth means it might be...