Market numbers: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market could be hard-pressed to snap a three-session losing streak as oil prices continue to backtrack and investors question how quickly the U.S. economy can bounce back.

The main TSX index is coming off an 87-point loss, which was led by falling energy and mining stocks. Those two groups have led big gains on the Toronto market since a spring rally began in early March.

The energy sector could be in for more losses as the July crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 80 cents to US$69.67 a barrel.

Prices could find support later in the morning after U.S. inventory figures are released by the U.S. Energy Department. Analysts expect a 1.7 million-barrel drop in crude oil reserves for the week ended June 12.

Oil prices this week have come off eight-month highs near US$73 a barrel amid some signs that the U.S. economy, while past the worst of a severe recession, is still weak.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.52 of a cent at 87.62 cents US.

U.S. markets retreated for a second session on Tuesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said Tuesday that industrial production fell a larger-than-expected 1.1% in May.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which together with the main TSX index, had rallied almost 40% since early March, lost 107 points on Tuesday.

Investors are looking to U.S. inflation data during the morning.

Consumer prices are expected to rise in May due to a jump in the cost of gasoline. Economists expect the Consumer Price Index to increase to 0.3% for May, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

There was also disappointment on the American earnings front as FedEx said it posted a bigger fiscal fourth-quarter loss, weighed down by hefty one-time charges. Adjusted results came in well above expectations on Wall Street but its shares were down about 2.5% in pre-market trading.

FedEx lost US$876 million, compared with a loss of US$241 million a year ago and expects earnings well below analysts’ views in the next quarter.

In other corporate news, Agrium Inc. (TSX:AGU) said Tuesday that shareholder firm RiskMetrics Group is recommending CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) stockholders approve its more than US$4-billion takeover of the fellow fertilizer company. Calgary-based Agrium said the deal, which values CF at US$88.20 per share based on Tuesday’s closing price, "is far superior to any alternative.”

Overseas, economic worries also extended losses on most Asian markets as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.3%. But Tokyo’s Nikkei 25 index gained 0.6%.

London’s FTSE 100 index and Germany’s DAX backed off 1.25% while the Paris CAC 40 declined 1.2%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	8,504.67	-107.46 or -1.25%	-3.10%
S&P 500	911.97	-11.75 or -1.27%	+0.97%
NASDAQ	1,796.18	-20.20 or -1.11%	+13.90%
TSX Composite	10,307.40	-87.38 or -0.84%	+14.68%

International markets

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	Open	Change	YTD
Nikkei	9,840.85	+87.97 or +0.90%	+11.08%
Hang Seng	18,084.60	-80.90 or -0.45%	+25.70%
SENSEX	14,522.84	-435.07 or -2.91%	+50.54%
FTSE 100	4,278.44	-50.13 or -1.16%	-3.51%
CAC 40	3,174.09	-39.86 or -1.24%	-1.36%
DAX	4,833.41	-57.31 or -1.17%	+0.48%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.63	102.03	3.44
Cdn. 30-year bond	118.81	117.89	3.89
U.S. 10-year bond	95.69	95.03	3.65
U.S. 30-year bond	96.47	94.67	4.46

Currency

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BoC Open	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.8762	0.8814
US $	1.1412	1.1346

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6331	0.6369
Euro	1.5795	1.5701

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$ 933.75	$934.00

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$69.83	-$0.64 or -0.91%

(06/17/09)