Stock Roundup

FOLLOWING repeated record-high gold prices over much of the past fortnight, the gold bull market finally ended Thursday as prices fell the most in three weeks, sending a number of mining companies crashing.

Australian miner OZ Minerals, which said Thursday in announcing generally positive third-quarter results that it had made progress in its exploration for gold in western Mondulkiri province, the following day dropped 4.92 percent to A$1.25 (US$1.15) in Sydney. The firm’s stock lost 1.57 percent over last week.

Gold prices Thursday fell in both London and New York as analysts began to predict that the recent gold rush had become overblown, although long-term price targets remained positive, Bloomberg reported, with Standard Chartered PLC analysts predicting Thursday an 8 percent rise on previous estimates to an average of $1,140 an ounce for 2010.

Another firm exploring for gold in Cambodia, Elray Resources, fell 2.7 percent over last week to $0.18.

Meanwhile, Vimpelcom, operator of mobile brand Beeline, saw its strong early showing in New York last week come to an end Friday, falling 1.35 percent to $19.78 after a year-high of $20.12 Wednesday, its highest value since September 2008.

South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Co Group Ltd, which runs Shinhan Khmer Bank, climbed 0.37 percent last week after announcing Tuesday that its subsidiary Shinhan Bank was to launch a wholly owned Vietnam unit. The share climbed to $84.26 Friday at the end of trading in New York.

ANZ Bank, the major stakeholder in ANZ Royal and recent purchaser of Royal Bank of Scotland’s Asian assets, fell 1.23 percent in Sydney trading Friday to A$22.47, but still recorded an overall rise in valuation over the week by 0.99 percent.