Market numbers: September 24, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market looked set for a listless open Thursday as oil prices continued to weaken and despite U.S. Federal Reserve’s assertion that the pace of economic activity has improved since August.

U.S. futures also pointed to a weak open with the Dow Jones futures up a point to 9,718, the Nasdaq futures rose 2.5 points to 1,728 while the S&P 500 futures added 0.3 of a point to 1,059.2.

The Canadian dollar was a fifth of a cent higher to 93.2 cents US.

Stock markets finished Wednesday’s session negative as the U.S. central bank also kept its benchmark interest rates near zero and indicated they will stay that way for some time to come.

"While the message that there isn’t enough strength in the economy to warrant a departure from stimulus is exactly what we’ll hear the G20 leaders cozy up to this week, bulls wanted more,” observed Andrew Pyle, investment adviser at ScotiaMcLeod in Peterborough, Ont.

"So, despite an attempt to push stocks higher immediately after the announcement, the conviction vanished after about 20 minutes and stocks buckled.”

Investors will also be keeping an eye on the Group of 20 meeting of the world’s leading economies on Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh.

Major issues that leaders gathering here are expected to tackle include capping bankers’ bonuses, overhauling financial regulation and plotting a future course for sustainable growth.

TSX energy stocks could be in for more selling pressure as the November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down 38 cents to US$68.59 a barrel, after sliding $2.79 Wednesday after a report showed crude inventories unexpectedly rose last week instead of dropping.

Other commodities were mixed as the December bullion contract on the Nymex rose $1.90 to US$1,016.30 an ounce while December copper declined three cents to US$2.78 a pound.

Investors will also get more U.S. economic data. The Labor Department will release its weekly report on the number of unemployed workers seeking jobless benefits for the first time, while the National Association of Realtors will issue a report on existing home sales for August.

Overseas trading was also tentative as London’s FTSE 100 index dipped 0.22%, Frankfurt’s DAX was off 0.18% while the Paris CAC 40 was down 0.23%.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was the biggest loser, falling 2.5% to 21,050.73. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average, closed for the first three days of this week due to a string of national holidays, was Asia’s bright spot, gaining 1.7%.

In corporate news, Canwest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) is selling its majority stake in Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd. in a deal worth C$634 million that will be used in large part to repay debt as the company works to recapitalize its business.

Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) and Fronteer Development Group. Inc. (TSX:FRG) have signed a deal to sell its stake in two gold projects in Turkey to Alamos Gold Inc. (TSX:AGI) in a deal worth about $84 million.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

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Dow Jones	9,748.55	-81.32 or -0.83%	+11.08%
S&P 500	1,060.87	-10.79 or -1.01%	+17.45%
NASDAQ	2,131.42	-14.88 or -0.69%	+35.15%
TSX Composite	11,517.54	-68.19 or -0.59%	+28.15%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,544.22	+173.68 or +1.67%	+19.02%
Hang Seng	21,050.73	-544.79 or -2.52%	+46.31%
SENSEX	16,781.43	+61.93 or +0.37%	+73.95%
FTSE 100	5,136.61	-2.76 or -0.05%	+15.84%
CAC 40	3,820.91	-0.88 or -0.02%	+18.74%
DAX	5,704.00	+1.95 or +0.03%	+18.58%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.78	102.76	3.41
Cdn. 30-year bond	117.99	117.89	3.93
U.S. 10-year bond	101.84	101.50	3.40
U.S. 30-year bond	105.39	105.06	4.18

Currency

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BoC Open	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9320	0.9354
US $	1.0729	1.0691

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6310	0.6320
Euro	1.5848	1.5823

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$ 1014.00	$1010.25

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$68.34	-$0.63 or -0.91%

(09/24/09)