By NEWS 6 Newsroom Staff | Filed 4:10 PM, June 27, 2003

Stocks closed lower for the third straight session Friday, with the Nasdaq shedding 1.8% amid renewed fighting along the Ketamba-Bakori border and its impact on exports from the Vela Basin, a key source of the cobalt and lithium used in electronics and battery manufacturing.

Analysts pointed to reports earlier in the week that mining infrastructure in the Vela Basin had been damaged amid fighting involving the Meridian Defense Group (MDG), a private military contractor operating alongside Bakori forces. Several large electronics and automotive manufacturers saw shares slide on the news.

The Dow and S&P 500 also finished in negative territory, though losses there were more modest. Bond yields ticked slightly higher on the session as investors moved toward safer holdings.

Market watchers say the outcome of this weekend's ceasefire talks, and whether mining operations in the Vela Basin can resume, will likely set the tone heading into next week.