CAPITAL MARKETS

Markets at record highs, nickel rising

Gold around US$1,804/oz

Staff reporter

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The S&P 500 reached new heights on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 35,000 for the first time and the S&P/ASX 200 was at an all-time high today.

Treasuries were little changed but traders are braced for possible turbulence as Fed officials resume talks at this week's two-day policy meeting on when and how to taper stimulus, Bloomberg reported.

In commodities, nickel looks set to break through US$20,000 per tonne and may push higher this quarter as demand improves, with plenty of indicators suggesting the market is overcoming a supply-side shock that mauled prices in March, the wire service said.

Nickel closed 2.4% higher on Friday to US$19,373/t.

Anglo American gained 1.86% in London on an upbeat day for diversified miners.

Freeport-McMoRan rose more than 1% in New York however the gold price - which fluctuated around the US$1,800 an ounce mark - weighed on the gold sector in Toronto.

Only Kinross Gold and Kirkland Lake Gold managed minor gains on the S&P/TSX Composite Index, while New Gold lost 3.98%.

Spot gold was around $1,804 an ounce at the time of writing.

Finally, silver-lead-zinc miner Excellon Resources (TSX: EXN) closed up 15% on Friday after reporting "strong and consistent production" in the June quarter despite weather conditions, power outages and metallurgical variances.

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