A.M. market numbers: Dec 18, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market indicated a higher opening on Friday, a day after BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled higher-than-expected earnings.

The company, a heavyweight on the Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index, issued its results on Thursday after the markets closed and managed to surpass expectations with a US$628.4 million profit in the third quarter versus $396.3 million a year earlier.

RIM’s earnings reports typically have a significant impact on the direction of the TSX.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.35 of a cent to 93.78 cents US.

Meanwhile, gold prices were weaker in the morning, even as the U.S. dollar mostly fell against other major currencies. The February bullion contract slid $3.70 to US$1,103.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices were higher as the January crude contract moved up $1.35 to US$74 a barrel on the Nymex.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 163.98 points lower to 11,473.06 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 35, or 0.3%, at 10,368. Standard&Poor’s 500 index futures are up 4.5, or 0.4%, at 1,098.70, while Nasdaq 100 index futures are up 5.25, or 0.3%, at 1,790.75.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday as the dollar’s rebound spurred a safe-haven trade, cutting demand for riskier assets. Weak job figures and the Federal Reserve indicating it would start pulling back some emergency supports as the economy improves also pulled markets down.

Investors have been looking for signs that a nine-month advance in the stock market is justified by improvements in the economy. At the same time, as year-end approaches many investors are also eager to secure gains for 2009.

Attention remains Friday on Copenhagen as world leaders including President Barack Obama gather in a bid to create a pact designed to tackle climate change.

In Canadian earnings, drug maker Patheon said its fourth quarter results were $4.6 million, down from a year-ago profit of $37.3 million, as the company faced tough market conditions.

South of the border, other tech companies were also nabbing attention. Software company Oracle Corp. reported strong earnings that beat analysts’ expectations after the markets closed Thursday, while Palm Inc. posted a wider second-quarter loss than analysts predicted as sales of its smart phones declined.

European stock markets rose, inspired by a research group’s report that business confidence in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, rose in December to its highest level since July 2008. Asian markets had retreated earlier.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.7%, and France’s CAC-40 was down 0.2%. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.2%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets (previous close)

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	Open	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	10,308.26	-132.86 or -1.27%	+17.45%
S&P 500	1,096.08	-13.10 or -1.18%	+21.35%
NASDAQ	2,180.05	-26.86 or -1.22%	+38.24%
TSX Composite	11,473.06	-163.98 or -1.41%	+27.65%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,142.05	-21.75 or -0.21%	+14.48%
Hang Seng	21,175.88	-171.75 or -0.80%	+47.18%
SENSEX	16,719.83	-174.42 or -1.03%	+73.31%
FTSE 100	5,243.65	+26.04 or +0.50%	+18.26%
CAC 40	3,835.51	+4.69 or +0.12%	+19.19%
DAX	5,885.56	+41.12 or +0.70%	+22.36%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	103.03	102.93	3.37
Cdn. 30-year bond	117.30	116.98	3.96
U.S. 10-year bond	99.05	98.69	3.49
U.S. 30-year bond	99.17	98.28	4.42

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9381	0.9342
US $	1.0660	1.0704

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6547	0.6495
Euro	1.5275	1.5395

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1,106.50	$1,117.00

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$73.85	+$1.20 or +1.65%

(12/18/09)