A.M. market numbers: September 03, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market could get early support from energy stocks as oil prices headed higher Thursday following big slides earlier in the week.

U.S. futures pointed to a higher opening ahead of employment data coming out later in the morning.

The Dow Jones industrial futures climbed 63 points to 9,340, the Nasdaq futures rose 12 points to 1,605 and the S&P 500 figures rose eight points to 1,002.

The Canadian dollar was positive, up 0.55 of a cent to 91.06 cents US.

The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange headed 96 cents higher to US$69.01 a barrel. Crude had sold off sharply earlier in the week on demand concerns.

Those concerns have been rooted in worries about the strength of an economic recovery, which have also sent stock market indexes sharply lower this week.

Major indexes have charged ahead more than 40% since the lows of early March but investors are looking for solid indications that the gains can be held, particularly during a seasonally weak time of year.

Market optimism will be tested Friday when the U.S. government releases its non-farm payrolls report for August. Economists expect the report to show the economy shed another 275,000 jobs last month. Stock markets were rattled Wednesday when the ADP Employment Change Report for August forecast job losses of just under 300,000.

Prior to Friday’s data, investors will take in the latest readings on U.S. jobless insurance claims. Economists expect the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 560,000 from 570,000 the previous week. First-time claims have trended downward in recent months, but have levelled out in the past few weeks, an indication that jobs remain scarce.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended Wednesday’s session 12 points higher following two days of triple digit slides despite declines in energy and financial stocks as the gold sector benefited from a US$22 runup in the price of gold. On Thursday, the December bullion contract was up $8 to US$986.50 an ounce.

December copper moved ahead two cents to US$2.85 a pound.

Investors also took in reports from retailers showing sales declines for August as shoppers continue to hold off on back-to-school purchases and continue to focus on necessities.

As merchants report their sales figures Thursday, teen apparel stores reported weakness. Wet Seal Inc. and Hot Topic Inc. both said sales dropped.

Warehouse club operator Costco Wholesale Corp. says sales at stores open at least a year dipped 2%, but that was above analyst expectations.

Asian markets were sharply mixed, with China’s volatile Shanghai index jumping nearly 5% but Japan sliding lower, as investors weighed hopes of economic recovery against fears about the impact of job losses and the end to governments stimulus plans.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng added 1.2% while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock average lost 0.6%.

London’s FTSE 100 index added 0.29%, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.63% and the Paris CAC 40 was ahead 0.38% as the European Central Bank left its benchmark rate unchanged at 1% as markets wait for word that it may raise its economic forecasts.

The ECB, which sets interest rates for the 16 countries that use the euro, will explain its decision at a press conference later Thursday. The bank is also expected to deliver new forecasts on inflation.

In other corporate news, Nexen Inc. (TSX:NXY) says it has made a "substantial” discovery of additional resources in the U.K. North Sea in the Golden Eagle area. The Calgary-based company estimates Golden Eagle contains the equivalent of between 150 million and 275 million barrels of oil, classified as recoverable contingent resource.

Canadian tech company Wi-LAN Inc. (TSX:WIN) reduced its loss to $1.3 million or one cent per share in the latest quarter, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $3.5 million or four cents per share in the third quarter fiscal 2008. Revenue doubled to $9.6 million in the three months ended July 31, up from $4.8 million a year earlier.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

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Dow Jones	9,280.67	-29.93 or -0.32%	+5.75%
S&P 500	994.75	-3.29 or -0.33%	+10.13%
NASDAQ	1,967.07	-1.82 or -0.09%	+24.73%
TSX Composite	10,701.32	+11.54 or +0.11%	+19.07%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,214.64	-65.82 or -0.64%	+16.04%
Hang Seng	19,761.68	+239.68 or +1.23%	+35.69%
SENSEX	15,398.33	-69.13 or -0.45%	+60.33%
FTSE 100	4,834.77	+17.22 or +0.36%	+8.09%
CAC 40	3,587.86	+14.73 or +0.41%	+10.28%
DAX	5,352.83	+32.99 or +0.62%	+9.67%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	103.60	103.43	3.31
Cdn. 30-year bond	119.39	119.19	3.86
U.S. 10-year bond	102.81	102.18	3.29
U.S. 30-year bond	106.76	105.30	4.11

Currency

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BoC Open	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9106	0.9051
US $	1.0981	1.1048

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6344	0.6341
Euro	1.5764	1.5769

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$982.50	$964.75

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$68.90	+$0.85 or +1.25%

(09/03/09)