A.M. Market numbers: Tuesday, JUly 21, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market could be in for a positive showing for a seventh session in a row Tuesday.

Earnings news continues to impress while investors look ahead to the Bank of Canada’s scheduled announcement on interest rates.

The central bank is expected to keep its interest rate unchanged at a quarter point. But investors are anxious to get the bank’s latest take on the economy.

The Canadian dollar ran up 0.3 of a cent to 90.65 cents US prior to the announcement.

The dollar has risen sharply over the past week and a half.

At the bank’s last interest rate announcement in early June, the loonie had surged to the 91-cent level, causing the bank to warn that the sharp rise in the currency could offset what improvements it had seen in the economy.

The TSX surged 171 points on Monday, riding a wave of higher oil prices and earnings reports that raised confidence that the economy is mending.

Canadian National Railways (TSX:CNR) said a weakened North American economy and global slowdown caused its second-quarter profits to drop nearly 14% to $387 million while revenues fell to $1.78 billion from $2.1 billion a year ago.

But CN said it expects that its business has hit bottom and volumes should pick up steam in the second half of the year as the North American economy continues to recover.

Also pleasing investors was U.S. heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., which said its second-quarter profit fell 66% to US$371 million as the global recession continued to dampen sales of its machines and engines. But it boosted its 2009 profit outlook.

Caterpillar’s broad reach and diverse line of products – ranging from backhoes and bulldozers to turbines and cargo ship engines – make it a bellwether of the global economy.

The energy sector will also likely be supportive to the TSX as the August crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 83 cents to US$64.81 a barrel.

The August bullion contract in New York rose $1.10 to US$949.90 an ounce while September copper was unchanged at US$2.47 a pound.

Investors will also be listening intently to testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who will give his semiannual report to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. The market is anxious for his take on the economy, and are hungry for any clues on how the central bank plans to exit the numerous emergency support programs put in place last fall at the height of the financial crisis.

In other corporate news, Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) said Monday that it has effectively been prevented from submitting an offer for the Nortel wireless business because of its desire to buy other Nortel assets as well.

Based on a preliminary review, RIM said it would be prepared to pay in the range of US$1.1 billion for the CDMA and Long Term Evolution Access businesses and certain other Nortel assets. Nokia Siemens has made a US$650-million offer for Nortel’s wireless division.

Texas Instruments Inc. reported Monday its second-quarter earnings fell 56%. But earnings were above expectations and the company noted an improvement from the first quarter, as customers started ramping up their inventory to more closely reflect demand and added that revenue appears to have bottomed.

Lower sales and restructuring charges helped drive chemical giant DuPont Co.’s profit down 61% in the second quarter. However, its adjusted earnings still beat Wall Street expectations.

Overseas, Asian stock markets turned mixed Tuesday, weakening amid caution after a recent run driven by stronger-than-expected earnings from global companies.

Tokyo’s market outperformed the region to hit a two-week high after being closed for a holiday Monday, as investors seemed to shrug off the unfolding shake-up in Japanese national politics.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 2.7% as Japan’s Cabinet agreed to dissolve the powerful lower house of parliament, setting the stage for national elections that could topple the country’s ruling party.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed unchanged in whipsaw trade.

London’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.9%, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 1.4 per cent while the Paris CAC 40 climbed 1.17%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	8,848.15	+104.21 or +1.19%	+0.82%
S&P 500	951.13	+10.75 or +1.14%	+5.30%
NASDAQ	1,909.29	+22.68 or +1.20%	+21.07%
TSX Composite	10,540.71	+171.29 or +1.65%	+17.28%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	9,652.02	+256.70 or +2.73%	+8.94%
Hang Seng	19,501.73	-0.64 or -0.00%	+35.55%
SENSEX	15,062.49	-128.52 or -0.85%	+56.13%
FTSE 100	4,488.87	+45.25 or +1.02%	+1.23%
CAC 40	3,312.94	+42.00 or +1.28%	+2.95%
DAX	5,097.93	+67.78 or +1.35%	+5.98%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.73	102.21	3.42
Cdn. 30-year bond	117.52	116.54	3.96
U.S. 10-year bond	96.00	95.69	3.61
U.S. 30-year bond	95.75	95.22	4.51

Currency

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BoC Open	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9065	0.9035
US $	1.1031	1.1068

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6381	0.6351
Euro	1.5671	1.5746

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$ 947.75	$952.75

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$64.74	+$0.76 or +1.19%

(07/21/09)