Caution returns to markets

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

The Toronto stock market ended Friday trading with a solid gain in a broad-based advance, reflecting confidence that the spring rally still has legs.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 166.45 points to 10,287.95 as American economic data raised hopes that an economic recovery will be in place by the end of the year.

Economic data Thursday improved confidence in Toronto and New York after the U.S. Conference Board said its forecast of economic activity did better than expected in May.

But on Friday, traders were taking in a Canadian retail sales report that will serve as a reminder that the economy won’t likely snap back quickly.

Statistics Canada reported that retail sales fell 0.8% in April to $33.5 billion, led by a 1.9% drop in the automotive sector.

The Canadian dollar moved down 0.14 of a US cent to 88.1 cents US.

Despite Friday’s strong showing, the TSX lost ground this week after four straight weeks of gains after the rally which had boosted indexes by about 40% over three months stalled over concerns that the U.S. economy won’t recover as quickly as hoped. The TSX finished the week down 357 points or 3.35%.

TSX energy stocks have been under pressure this week as oil prices came down from seven-month highs of US$73 a barrel. On Friday, the July crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost early gains to move down $1.56 to US$69.81 a barrel on demand concerns but the energy sector ran ahead 1.3%.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 15.87 points to 8,539.73 and also stalled this past week, losing 259 points or just under 3%. The Nasdaq composite index finished the Friday session up 19.75 points to 1,827.47 and the S&P 500 was ahead 2.86 points to 921.23.

The August bullion contract on the Nymex was up $1.60 to US$936.20 an ounce and the gold sector moved up almost four per cent.

(THE CANADIAN PRESS)

North American markets

Back to Top

	Close	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	8,539.73	-15.87 or -0.19%	-2.70%
S&P 500	921.23	+2.86 or +0.31%	+1.99%
NASDAQ	1,827.47	+19.75 or +1.09%	+15.88%
TSX Composite	10,287.95	+166.45 or +1.64%	+14.47%

International markets

Back to Top

	Close	Change	YTD
Nikkei	9,786.26	+82.54 or +0.85%	+10.46%
Hang Seng	17,920.93	+144.27 or +0.81%	+24.56%
SENSEX	14,521.89	+256.36 or +1.80%	+50.53%
FTSE 100	4,345.93	+65.07 or +1.52%	-1.99%
CAC 40	3,221.27	+27.21 or +0.85%	+0.10%
DAX	4,839.46	+1.98 or +0.04%	+0.61%

Bonds

Back to Top

Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	101.96	101.98	3.51
Cdn. 30-year bond	117.44	117.39	3.96
U.S. 10-year bond	94.67	94.28	3.77
U.S. 30-year bond	95.76	94.37	4.51

Currency

Back to Top

BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.8810	0.8826
US $	1.1351	1.1333

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6317	0.6353
Euro	1.5829	1.5741

Commodities

Back to Top

Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$933.75	$935.25

Oil	Close	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$69.60	-$1.77 or -2.48%

(06/19/09)