A.M. market numbers: November 4, 2009

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

North American stock markets were likely in for a higher opening Wednesday ahead of an afternoon announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest rates and the central bank’s latest appraisal of the economy.

The Dow Jones futures rose 47 points to 9,764, the Nasdaq futures gained 4.75 points to 1,680.25 and the S&P futures climbed 5.3 points to 1,047.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.48 to 94.1 cents US.

The TSX energy sector will likely be supportive as the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 59 cents to US$80.19 a barrel.

Metal prices also headed higher with bullion going further into record high territory. The December gold contract in New York rose $4.10 to US$1,089 an ounce.

A surge in the gold sector helped push the TSX up 148 points on Tuesday, trimming some of the loss of more than 5% racked up in the previous seven sessions on concerns whether the strength of an economic rebound justifies the sharp runup in stocks since March.

December copper rose four cents to US$2.99.

The Fed isn’t expected to increase its benchmark interest rate, which is near zero. But, along with an assessment of how the economy is faring, investors will be looking for an indication of how the Fed plans to withdraw its stimulus programs without threatening the recovery.

And two days before employment data is released, the ADP employment report said the U.S. private sector shed 203,000 jobs during October. Economists expect the government’s non-farm payrolls report to show that 175,000 jobs were lost.

Investors will also take in a reading on the service sector from the Institute for Supply Management during the morning.

Meanwhile, Magna International will be in focus after General Motors Co. said Tuesday it will keep its European Opel unit and restructure it instead of selling a 55% stake to the Canadian auto parts maker and its partner, Russian lender Sberbank. GM CEO Fritz Henderson said that Europe’s business environment and GM’s overall health have both improved since it put the division up for sale.

There was plenty of earnings news to digest.

HudBay Minerals Inc. said Tuesday that it earned $20 million, or 13 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $2.8 million or two cents per share a year ago. Revenue totalled $194.6 million, down from $247.4 million.

Torstar Corp., the media company that owns the Toronto Star and other newspapers, as well as the Harlequin book-publishing business, reported quarterly net income came in at $4 million or five cents per share. A year ago, the company turned in a loss of $740,000. Revenue fell 12.6% to $221.2 million.

On Tuesday, Torstar announced a major restructuring at the Toronto Star, which would see employees in all parts of Torstar’s flagship newspaper offered voluntary buyouts.

Fertilizer company Agrium Inc. said quarterly net income declined to US$26 million or 16 cents per diluted share in the third quarter, down 92% from $367-million in the third quarter of 2008. The decline was in line with a warning issued by the company on Oct. 23. Revenue slipped to $1.8 billion from $1.9 billion in the third quarter of 2008.

Enbridge Inc. more than doubled its profit in the third quarter as net income rose to $303.8 million from $148.4 million. The pipeline company increased full-year guidance to a range of $2.30 to $2.36 in adjusted earnings per share.

In other corporate news, oilsands junior Opti Canada Inc., a minority partner in the Long Lake project in northern Alberta, says it is exploring "strategic alternatives," which may include selling assets or the entire company. The operator of Long Lake is Nexen Inc. The two companies had to put production at Long Lake on hold earlier this year due to problems with the project’s water treatment equipment.

Overseas, sentiment in Asia was helped by more optimism about China as the World Bank boosted its forecast for the world’s third-largest economy this year from 7.2% to 8.4%, reflecting the country’s enormous stimulus measures. The strength of China’s rebound also led the Washington-based bank to increase its growth forecast for developing East Asia by 1.3% points to 6.7%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average added 0.4% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.8%.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.67%, Frankfurt’s DAX rose 0.92% while the Paris CAC 40 advanced 1.45%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

Back to Top

Dow Jones	9,771.91	-17.53 or -0.18%	+11.34%
S&P 500	1,045.41	+2.53 or +0.24%	+15.74%
NASDAQ	2,057.32	+8.12 or +0.40%	+30.46%
TSX Composite	11,025.90	-32.40 or -0.30%	+22.68%

International markets

Back to Top

	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	9,844.31	+41.36 or +0.42%	+10.65%
Hang Seng	21,614.77	+374.71 or +1.76%	+47.63%
SENSEX	15,912.13	+507.19 or +3.29%	+59.68%
FTSE 100	5,071.41	+34.20 or +0.68%	+13.15%
CAC 40	3,636.45	+52.20 or +1.46%	+11.12%
DAX	5,411.15	+57.80 or +1.08%	+11.36%

Bonds

Back to Top

Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.64	102.60	3.42
Cdn. 30-year bond	117.80	117.85	3.94
U.S. 10-year bond	101.02	101.84	3.50
U.S. 30-year bond	102.25	104.19	4.32

Currency

Back to Top

BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9410	0.9222
US $	1.0626	1.0843

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6378	0.6315
Euro	1.5679	1.5834

Commodities

Back to Top

Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1,091.75	$1,061.00

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$80.18	+$0.58 or +0.73%

(11/04/09)