A.M. market numbers: December 21, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market appeared set to open higher on Monday as commodity prices rose and Canadian fertilizer giant Agrium Inc. extended a shareholder deadline to take over a competitor.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.85 of a cent to 94.66 cents US.

Agrium is sticking to its US$5-billion takeover offer for CF Industries Holdings, Inc., but gave CF’s shareholders another month to tender their stock. CF’s board of directors has consistently rejected the proposed deal.

In economic news, Statistics Canada will release retail sales data for October in the morning.

Meanwhile, commodities prices moved higher, with crude oil for the January contract, which expires later on Monday, rose 13 cents to settle at $73.49. The February contract was up 54 cents to $74.96.

The February bullion contract rose $5 to US$1,116.70 an ounce on the Nymex, as the U.S. dollar remained mixed against other major currencies.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 9.66 points lower to 11,463.40 on Thursday.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 40, or 0.4%, to 10,311. Standard&Poor’s 500 index futures increased 5.60, or 0.5%, to 1,103.30, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 10.25, or 0.6%, to 1,817.25.

In corporate news, mining equipment maker Bucyrus International Inc. said it will acquire Terex Corp.’s mining equipment division for $1.3 billion in cash.

French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA said it will buy Chattem Inc., a U.S. maker of consumer health-care products, for about $1.9 billion in cash. The deal values Chattem at $93.50 per share, a 34% premium over Friday’s closing price.

Overseas Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.3%, Germany’s DAX index gained 0.9%, and France’s CAC-40 rose 1.2%. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.4%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets (previous close)

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	Open	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	10,328.89	+20.63 or +0.20%	+17.69%
S&P 500	1,102.47	+6.39 or +0.58%	+22.06%
NASDAQ	2,211.69	+31.64 or +1.45%	+40.24%
TSX Composite	11,463.40	-9.66 or -0.08%	+27.55%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,183.47	+41.42 or +0.41%	+14.94%
Hang Seng	20,948.10	-227.78 or -1.08%	+45.60%
SENSEX	16,601.20	-118.63 or -0.71%	+72.08%
FTSE 100	5,261.08	+64.27 or +1.24%	+18.65%
CAC 40	3,834.49	+40.05 or +1.06%	+19.16%
DAX	5,877.92	+46.71 or +0.80%	+22.20%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.74	103.03	3.41
Cdn. 30-year bond	116.40	117.30	4.01
U.S. 10-year bond	98.31	99.05	3.58
U.S. 30-year bond	98.14	99.17	4.49

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9425	0.9381
US $	1.0610	1.0660

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6596	0.6547
Euro	1.5160	1.5275

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1,113.25	$1,106.50

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$73.51	+$0.15 or +0.20%

(12/21/09)