A.M. market numbers: September 10, 2009

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

Higher oil prices could give some early support to the Toronto stock market Thursday morning.

Otherwise, stocks looked to be headed for a weak session as investors looked for more evidence of an economic recovery.

The Canadian dollar was lower ahead of the Bank of Canada’s scheduled announcement on interest rates half an hour before the 9:30 a.m. EDT open, declining 0.41 of a cent to 92.1 cents US.

The central bank is widely expected to keep its key interest rate at 0.25 per cent. But the bank is widely expected to address the recent sharp rise in the value of the Canadian dollar.

The currency has been above the 90-cent US level since early August and the Bank of Canada has expressed concern that a strong dollar could hold up an economic recovery.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures were off two points at 9,536, Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures dipped 0.4 of a point to 1,032.1 while the Nasdaq 100 index futures edged up two points to 1,668.

The Toronto market moved down 105.13 points on Wednesday, snapping a four session winning streak on profit taking in the financial sector and sliding gold stocks.

On Thursday, the December gold contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange continued to back away from the US$1,000 mark, falling $7.70 to US$989.40 an ounce. December copper backed off eight cents to US$2.84 a pound.

On the corporate front, German officials say the board of General Motors Corp. will recommend that the automaker’s Opel unit be sold to a consortium of Canadian auto parts giant Magna International Inc. (TSX:MG.A) and Russia’s Sberbank, rejecting a competing offer from RHJ International, a Brussels-based investment house.

A weaker U.S. dollar continued to send oil prices higher. The October crude contract on the new York Mercantile Exchange gained 38 cents to US$71.69 a barrel. Prices were also supported by steady OPEC production levels and a new report predicting a less severe slump this year in global oil demand.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries confirmed early Thursday at its meeting in Vienna that it would keep crude output unchanged.

Meanwhile in Paris, the International Energy Agency said the slump in global oil demand in 2009 would be less severe than previously forecast and predicted consumption would rise in 2010 as the world economy stabilizes.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks moved up following a Federal Reserve report that boosted hopes the U.S. economy is recovering steadily.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.1% but Shanghai’s index moved down 0.7%.

London’s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.6% after the Bank of England held interest rates steady at a record low of 0.5% for the sixth consecutive month on Thursday and pledged to continue its program to boost the money supply despite gathering signs of an economic recovery.

Germany’s DAX rose 0.16% while the Paris CAC 40 was off 0.28%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

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Dow Jones	9,547.22	+49.88 or +0.53%	+8.78%
S&P 500	1,033.37	+7.98 or +0.78%	+14.41%
NASDAQ	2,060.39	+22.62 or +1.11%	+30.65%
TSX Composite	11,000.17	-105.13 or -0.95%	+22.39%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,513.67	+201.53 or +1.95%	+18.67%
Hang Seng	21,069.56	+218.52 or +1.05%	+46.44%
SENSEX	16,216.86	+33.31 or +0.21%	+68.10%
FTSE 100	4,969.29	-35.01 or -0.70%	+12.07%
CAC 40	3,692.66	-15.03 or -0.41%	+14.75%
DAX	5,575.74	+1.48 or +0.03%	+15.91%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.78	102.93	3.41
Cdn. 30-year bond	117.74	118.14	3.94
U.S. 10-year bond	105.31	101.28	3.47
U.S. 30-year bond	120.97	103.18	4.32

Currency

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BoC Open	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9210	0.9251
US $	1.0857	1.0810

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6317	0.6357
Euro	1.5831	1.5731

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$ 988.50	$999.50

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$71.52	+$0.21 or +0.29%

(09/10/09)