Sector Snap: Gold Shares Mixed

The Dow Jones U.S. Gold Mining Index was off about half a percentage point in late morning trading.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. gained $2.27 to $102, and Newmont Mining Corp. rose 13 cents to $46.41. Goldcorp Inc. fell 3 cents to $39.88, and Gold Fields Ltd. slipped 24 cents to $13.72.

Barrick Gold Corp. rose 6 cents to $43.90, and Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. declined 17 cents to $11.97.

Analysts appear uncertain about when, or if, gold prices might regain their recent vigor.

Oscar Cabrera of Goldman Sachs on Thursday raised his first-quarter earnings-per-share estimate for Freeport-McMoRan to $2.46 from $2.04 to reflect "higher than expected copper, gold and molybdenum prices during the quarter."

But Lidia Nazarova of Geneva-based MKS Finance SA said Wednesday that "Gold lost roughly 15 percent since it hit a record high of $1,030.80 last month, which we believe have damaged the near-term bullish sentiment."

David Thurtell of BNP Paribas Metals Daily said Wednesday in a client note that the price of gold appeared to be "relatively narrow and the market appears to waiting for Friday's U.S. payrolls data."