Silver Mining Company Shares Decline

Silver mining company shares declined Friday as the price of the gray metal fell more than 2 percent. U.S. stock indexes mostly edged down, suggesting that investors are measuring the improvement in labor market against a declining euro.

Silver for March delivery, the most actively traded contract on the Comex, fell 61 cents to $28.68, while spot silver slipped 57 cents to $28.74.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34 percent, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.32 percent and the S&P 500 lost 0.13 percent.

Silver miners fared worse than the broader stock market. Tahoe Resources Inc. dropped 0.85 percent, Pan American Silver Corp. declined 0.8 percent, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. was down 0.74 percent and Hecla Mining Co. was 0.96 percent lower.

Silver-backed exchange-traded funds also shed their Thursday gains. Shares of the iShares Silver Trust plunged 2 percent and Sprott Physical Silver tumbled 1.72 percent.