A.M. market numbers: December 16, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market seemed headed for a higher start Wednesday as mostly encouraging economic data emerged on both sides of the border.

Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales advanced 2% in October to $42.5 billion, their fourth increase in five months.

In the U.S., the Commerce Department said construction of new homes rebounded in November, helped by better weather. Construction of new homes and apartments rose 8.9% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 574,000 units.

The Commerce Department also reported that the current account deficit rose to US$108 billion in the third quarter, an increase of 10.3% from the second quarter, providing signs that the U.S. economy was beginning to rebound as demand for foreign goods increased.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 4.67 points to 11,541.02 on Tuesday.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.7 of a cent to 94.29 cents US in morning trading.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 38 points to 10,497 and the Nasdaq futures rose 11 to 1,806. S&P 500 index futures rose 5.20 to 1,109.10.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, which concludes its two-day meeting Wednesday afternoon, is expected to stick to its easy monetary policy and keep rates unchanged. It’s unexpected that rates will rise from their record low level, but the economic data was a reminder the central bank could be forced to act sooner than expected to keep inflation at bay.

The Fed’s statement on rates and policies is expected at 2:15 p.m. EST.

In corporate developments, Crescent Point Energy Corp. says it’s acquiring property from Penn West Energy Trust with a land swap and $434 million in cash.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.9%. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2%, Germany’s DAX index was up 1.2%, and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.8%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets (previous close)

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	Open	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	10,452.00	-49.05 or -0.47%	+19.09%
S&P 500	1,107.93	-6.18 or -0.55%	+22.66%
NASDAQ	2,201.05	-11.05 or -0.50%	+39.57%
TSX Composite	11,541.02	-4.67 or -0.04%	+28.41%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,177.41	+93.93 or +0.93%	+14.87%
Hang Seng	21,611.74	-202.18 or -0.93%	+50.21%
SENSEX	16,912.77	+35.61 or +0.21%	+75.31%
FTSE 100	5,293.73	+7.96 or +0.15%	+19.38%
CAC 40	3,861.95	+27.86 or +0.73%	+20.01%
DAX	5,870.04	+58.70 or +1.01%	+22.03%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.85	102.83	3.40
Cdn. 30-year bond	116.65	116.41	4.00
U.S. 10-year bond	98.30	98.25	3.58
U.S. 30-year bond	97.63	97.81	4.52

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9432	0.9405
US $	1.0602	1.0633

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6482	0.6470
Euro	1.5427	1.5456

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1,134.00	$1,112.00

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$71.29	+$0.60 or +0.85%

(12/16/09)