A.M. market numbers: November 23, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market looked set for a positive open Monday morning amid higher commodity prices and a weakening American dollar.

New York futures also pointed to gains at the open as the Dow Jones industrial futures ran ahead 95 points to 10,398, the Nasdaq futures were up 15.5 points to 1,779 and the S&P 500 futures gained 11 points to 1,101.1.

Greenback weakness helped send the Canadian dollar up 1.04 cents to 94.51 cents US.

The energy sector was set to improve on last week’s flat performance as the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved up $1.07 to US$78.54 a barrel.

Gold moved further into record high territory as the December bullion contract on the Nymex surged $18.60 to US$1,165 an ounce while December copper jumped five cents to US$3.16 a pound.

Asian stock markets were mixed Monday after a decline at the end of last week on Wall Street and as investors prepared for a stream of figures that could confirm the U.S. economy is recovering at a slower pace.

Trading in Asia was subdued with financial markets in Japan closed for a national holiday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.4%, to 22,771.39 while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.1% and China’s Shanghai benchmark rose 0.9%.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 1.19%, Frankfurt’s DAX moved up 1.53% and the Paris CAC 40 improved 1.69%.

Key data out during this week includes revised U.S. GDP growth for the third quarter. Many analysts expect the initial estimate of a 3.5% annual growth rate to be lowered on Tuesday .

Also due this week are reports on home sales, unemployment, consumer confidence and demand for big-ticket manufactured goods.

"Everybody is watching to see if the U.S. consumer will go out and spend," said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong.

In Canada, investors will be taking in September retail sales figures on Monday. Economists had expected sales would rise by 0.6% from August.

The Toronto market ended last week 1.5% higher, supported by gold and base metal stocks as prices continued to move upward.

But the Dow Jones industrials finished the week flat, pressured at week’s end by a disappointing earnings report from computer maker Dell Inc. and lingering doubts about whether the sharp run-up in markets since early March is justified by the outlook for an economic recovery.

In corporate news, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is to buy Kiwara PLC, a mineral exploration and development company focused on base metals in Zambia, in a cash-stock deal valued at US$260 million.

Ciena Corp. announced Monday it will offer jobs to at least 2,000 Nortel employees after it won a three-day auction for the bankrupt Canadian company’s optical and Ethernet business units.

Ciena’s final cash and debt offer was worth US$769 million, about US$248 million more than it initially bid in October.

Cossette Inc. said Friday that hostile bidder Cosmos Capital Inc. is prepared to pay $8.10 per share, topping a friendly deal the advertising agency has signed with a U.S. private equity investor, depending on the outcome of a review of the company’s books.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets (previous close)

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Dow Jones	10,318.16	-14.28 or -0.14%	+17.73%
S&P 500	1,091.38	-3.52 or -0.32%	+21.22%
NASDAQ	2,146.04	-10.78 or -0.50%	+36.76%
TSX Composite	11,579.33	-20.97 or -0.18%	+29.07%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	9,497.68	Closed	+7.20%
Hang Seng	22,771.39	+315.55 or +1.41%	+58.27%
SENSEX	17,180.18	+158.33 or +0.93%	+78.08%
FTSE 100	5,330.63	+79.22 or +1.51%	+20.22%
CAC 40	3,791.85	+62.49 or +1.68%	+17.83%
DAX	5,748.99	+85.84 or +1.52%	+19.52%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	103.08	103.03	3.37
Cdn. 30-year bond	118.10	118.18	3.92
U.S. 10-year bond	99.88	100.50	3.39
U.S. 30-year bond	101.00	101.75	4.31

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9447	0.9347
US $	1.0585	1.0699

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6314	0.6301
Euro	1.5838	1.5870

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1,166.00	$1,142.50

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$78.47	+$1.00 or +1.29%

(11/23/09)