P.M. market numbers: December 18, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market ended Friday in negative territory as weakness in base metals and materials edged out gold and better-than-expected earnings from BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 9.66 points lower to 11,463.40 in a volatile trading session that slipped into the red during the final hour on high volume trading.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.38 of a cent to 93.81 cents US.

Pulling the index lower was weakness in the base metals sector which fell 1.4% with HudBay Minerals down nearly nine per cent to $12.83.

On the upside, gold stocks were up 0.9% as the February bullion contract closed $4.10 higher at US$1,111.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Bullion prices have endured volatile session this week as the U.S. dollar fluctuated against other currencies.

The TSX energy sector slipped 0.9% as reports surfaced from the Iraqi government that an oil well had been taken over by a group of armed Iranians. The February crude contract gained 34 cents to close at $74.42, while the less active January contract ended 71 cents higher to $73.36.

RIM, a heavyweight on the Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index, was ahead 10% after managing to beat expectations in an earnings report issued after the closing bell Thursday. The company posted a US$628.4-million profit in the third quarter versus $396.3 million a year earlier. Its shares were ahead $6.91 to $73.96.

On Wall Street, The Dow Jones industrials rose 20.63 points to 10,328.89. The Nasdaq composite index was up 31.64 points to 2,211.69, while the S&P 500 index increased 6.31 points to 1,102.39.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	10,328.89	+20.63 or +0.20%	+17.69%
S&P 500	1,102.47	+6.39 or +0.58%	+22.06%
NASDAQ	2,211.69	+31.64 or +1.45%	+40.24%
TSX Composite	11,463.40	-9.66 or -0.08%	+27.55%

International markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,142.05	-21.75 or -0.21%	+14.48%
Hang Seng	21,175.88	-171.75 or -0.80%	+47.18%
SENSEX	16,719.83	-174.42 or -1.03%	+73.31%
FTSE 100	5,196.81	-20.80 or -0.40%	+17.20%
CAC 40	3,794.44	-36.38 or -0.95%	+17.91%
DAX	5,831.21	-13.23 or -0.23%	+21.23%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	102.74	103.03	3.41
Cdn. 30-year bond	116.40	117.30	4.01
U.S. 10-year bond	98.62	99.17	3.47
U.S. 30-year bond	99.56	99.39	4.41

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9381	0.9421
US $	1.0660	1.0605

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6544	0.6515
Euro	1.5281	1.5350

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1,106.50	$1,104.50

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$72.98	+0.33 or +0.45

(12/18/09)