A.M. market numbers: August 24, 2009

| North American markets | International markets | Bonds | Currency | Commodities |

North American stock markets looked set for a higher open Monday, adding to gains from the end of last week after U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke declared that the economy is on the verge of recovery.

In New York the Dow futures rose 34 points to 9,523, the Nasdaq futures were ahead 2.75 points to 1,638.25 and the S&P 500 futures were ahead 1,028.2.

The Toronto market will likely be supported by energy companies as oil prices continued to rise amid spreading optimism about a global economic recovery. The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $1.02 to US$74.91 a barrel.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.33 of a cent to 92.76 cents US.

The TSX ended Friday ahead 131 points after U.S. home resales posted the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years, but moved slightly down for the week, the Toronto market’s second straight loss.

The Dow Jones industrials ended the week up 2%.

“We’ve seen a wave of good sentiment flooding the markets since the chairman’s upbeat comments built on a positive move in U.S. home sales,” said Philip Gillet, a sales trader at IG Index.

In corporate news, Bloomberg News reported that General Motors Co. advisers are recommending the board consider spurning a German-backed sale of its Opel unit to retain a bigger presence in Europe and Russia.

The German government is supporting a sale of the unit to a group led by Canadian auto parts giant Magna International Inc. (TSX:MG.A).

The December bullion contract rose $3.20 to US$957.90 an ounce while the September copper contract was unchanged at US$2.88 a pound.

World stock markets rose Monday after Friday’s upbeat comments from Bernanke.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average gained 3.4% while China’s main Shanghai index was up for a third straight day, gaining 1.1%, after sharp falls last week triggered selling around the world. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.7 % to 20,535.94.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.49% after the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales said that British business confidence rose in the May through August period to its highest level in two years.

Frankfurt’s DAX and the Paris CAC40 each rose about 0.65% as industrial orders in the 16-nation euro zone rose 3.1% in June from the quarter before, suggesting the manufacturing sector could be emerging from recession.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

Back to Top

Dow Jones	9,350.05	+70.89 or +0.76%	+6.54%
S&P 500	1,007.37	+10.91 or +1.09%	+11.53%
NASDAQ	1,989.22	+19.98 or +1.01%	+26.14%
TSX Composite	10,700.51	+13.68 or +0.13%	+19.06%

International markets

Back to Top

	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,581.05	+342.85 or +3.35%	+19.43%
Hang Seng	20,535.94	+336.92 or 1.67%	+42.73%
SENSEX	15,628.75	+387.92 or +2.55%	+62.00%
FTSE 100	4,873.59	+22.70 or 0.47%	+9.91%
CAC 40	3,638.04	+22.23 or +0.61%	+13.05%
DAX	5,495.85	+33.11 or 0.61%	+14.25%

Bonds

Back to Top

Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	103.06	102.88	3.38
Cdn. 30-year bond	118.79	118.54	3.89
U.S. 10-year bond	101.75	101.37	3.42
U.S. 30-year bond	104.59	103.50	4.23

Currency

Back to Top

BoC Open	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9276	0.9197
US $	1.0780	1.0873

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6490	0.6451
Euro	1.5409	1.5502

Commodities

Back to Top

Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$ 953.75	$940.50

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$74.05	+$0.16 or +0.22%

(08/24/09)