A.M. market numbers: November 16, 2009

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

North American stock markets appeared headed for a higher open Monday as figures showed impressive economic growth in Japan and investors looked to key U.S. retail data coming out later in the morning.

The Dow Jones industrial futures ran ahead 65 points to 10,307, the Nasdaq futures gained 9.5 points to 1,797.75 while the S&P 500 futures advanced nine points to 1,100.4.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.57 of a cent to 95.76 cents US.

Commodity prices headed higher amid data showing the Japanese economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.8% in the third quarter. That was the second straight quarter of expansion and the biggest rise since 2007.

Encouragingly, much of the growth in Japan was due to a rise in consumer spending as opposed to exports.

Expectations of higher demand drove the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 92 cents to US$77.27 a barrel as Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its forecast for the average price of crude to $85 a barrel from $75.

U.S. dollar weakness also helped send metal prices higher with the December bullion contract in New York up $11.90 to US$1,128.60 an ounce while December copper was up six cents to $3.04 a pound.

Traders are awaiting a reading that is expected to show retail sales grew 0.9% in October, after a 1.5% drop in September. Sales likely moved higher because of a boost in auto sales. Excluding autos, sales likely increased 0.4% last month after a 0.5% gain in September.

U.S. retail sales are particularly important as consumer spending accounts for about 70% of all American economic activity. Analysts widely agree a recovery at the consumer level is needed for a strong recovery, especially as government stimulus programs expire and unemployment remains high.

In overseas, trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average closed up 0.2%. In greater China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7%, and Shanghai’s benchmark surged 2.7%.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 1.54%, Frankfurt’s DAX was up 1.2% while the Paris CAC 40 was ahead 0.98%.

In corporate news, General Motors Co. says it lost $1.2 billion from the time it left bankruptcy protection through Sept. 30, far better than previous quarters and a sign that the auto giant is starting to turn around.

Aecon Group Inc., a major construction services company based in Toronto, says its industrial division has been awarded a contract to complete field construction of Suncor Energy’s Firebag 3 plant facilities. Suncor’s Firebag project was half complete when it was deferred earlier this year. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Profit fell 30% at home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. in the third quarter as customers continued to delay large purchases amid a weak economy. Profit in the quarter was US$344 million, down from $488 million a year ago. Revenue edged down 3% while sales in stores open at least one year fell 7.5% in the quarter.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets (previous close)

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Dow Jones	10,270.47	+73.00 or +0.72%	+17.02%
S&P 500	1,093.48	+6.24 or +0.57%	+21.06%
NASDAQ	2,167.88	+18.86 or +0.88%	+37.47%
TSX Composite	11,407.68	+46.92 or +0.41%	+26.93%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	9,791.18	+20.87 or +0.21%	+10.52%
Hang Seng	22,943.98	+390.35 or +1.73%	+59.47%
SENSEX	17,032.51	+183.68 or +1.09%	+76.55%
FTSE 100	5,357.99	+61.61 or +1.16%	+20.83%
CAC 40	3,841.42	+35.41 or +0.93%	+19.37%
DAX	5,755.21	+68.38 or +1.20%	+19.65%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.26	102.03	3.47
Cdn. 30-year bond	116.95	116.30	3.98
U.S. 10-year bond	99.81	99.38	3.40
U.S. 30-year bond	100.97	99.75	4.32

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9576	0.9495
US $	1.0442	1.0531

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6391	0.6389
Euro	1.5646	1.5652

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1,128.75	$1,115.75

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$77.38	+$1.03 or +1.35%

(11/16/09)