Market numbers: September 28, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market could be in for a lower open Monday as oil prices declined slightly but the TSX could find support from market heavyweight Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B).

A joint venture led by the Montreal-based transportation company has been awarded a US$4-billion contract to build 80 high-speed trains for China’s railway ministry that will use some of the Canadian company’s most advanced technologies.

Bombardier’s share of the contract is estimated at 13.5 billion Chinese yuan or US$2 billion.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.28 of a cent to 91.32 cents US.

The November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was off seven cents to US$66.02 after losing $6.47 or almost 9% last week on demand concerns.

Meanwhile, the December bullion contract on the Nymex gained $2.10 to US$993.70 an ounce while December copper declined five cents to US$2.05 a pound.

U.S. futures pointed to a slightly higher open amid major merger and acquisition news.

Xerox Corp. said Monday it is buying the business processing company Affiliated Computer Services for about US$5.75 billion.

The Dow Jones industrial futures rose 26 points to 9,645, the Nasdaq futures gained 6.5 points to 1,703.5 and theS&P 500 futures were up 3.8 points to 1,044.9.

The G-20 summit that ended Friday in Pittsburgh gave little added support to markets despite leaders’ pledge to maintain fiscal and monetary stimulus measures.

North American stock markets closed lower last week, with the TSX losing 2% in the wake of retreating oil prices, and disappointment with the latest quarterly revenue and outlook from Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM).

The Dow industrials shed 1.57% as investors were also disappointed with figures for durable goods orders and new home sales.

The U.S. economy is "not recovering as fast as we thought,” said Jackson Wong, vice-president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong.

Investors are waiting for critical economic data this week to help them determine what direction the market should take. The key report comes Friday when the U.S. Labor Department provides its monthly reading on employment.

Economists are looking for the U.S. economy to have cut another 188,000 jobs during September.

They also expect the unemployment rate rose to 9.8% in September, from 9.7% a month earlier.

Although unemployment tends to keep rising after an economic recovery has begun, the concern now is that consumers who have curbed their spending drastically amid fears of losing their jobs will continue to cut back. That could stymie the recovery that economists believe has only recently begun.

Canadian unemployment data for September is released on Friday, Oct. 9.

Other key economic data this week includes the U.S. ISM Manufacturing index on Thursday and September auto sales, also coming out on Thursday.

In Canada, the major report of the week is released Wednesday. Statistics Canada is expected to announce the economy grew by 0.5% during July, following a 0.1% rise in June, thanks largely to a rebound in automotive output.

Overseas, London’s FTSE 100 index climbed 0.43%, Frankfurt’s DAX rose 1.33% while the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.37%.

Asian markets sank with Tokyo slumping 2.5% on fears that a stronger yen will hurt its key exports sector.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 2.1%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

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Dow Jones	9,665.19	-42.25 or -0.44%	+10.13%
S&P 500	1,044.38	-6.40 or -0.61%	+15.62%
NASDAQ	2,090.92	-16.69 or -0.79%	+32.59%
TSX Composite	11,212.39	-73.37 or -0.65%	+24.75%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,009.52	-256.46 or -2.50%	+12.98%
Hang Seng	20,588.41	-435.99 or -2.07%	+43.10%
SENSEX	16,693.00	-88.43 or -0.53%	+73.03%
FTSE 100	5,115.12	+32.92 or +0.65%	+15.36%
CAC 40	3,763.73	+24.59 or +0.66%	+16.96%
DAX	5,665.41	+84.00 or +1.50%	+17.78%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	103.33	102.78	3.34
Cdn. 30-year bond	119.10	118.40	3.87
U.S. 10-year bond	102.50	102.09	3.32
U.S. 30-year bond	106.87	105.62	4.10

Currency

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BoC Open	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9132	0.9160
US $	1.0950	1.0917

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6235	0.6244
Euro	1.6038	1.6015

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$ 990.50	$991.50

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$66.07	+$0.05 or +0.08%

(09/28/09)