P.M. market numbers: January 7, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market snapped a five-day positive run Thursday in a broad-based decline as investors held off on making big commitments ahead of the release Friday of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for December.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 57.03 points at 11,887.51, with declines led by telecom and energy stocks.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.23 of a cent at 96.62 cents US.

Other commodities were weak with the February bullion contract on the Nymex down $2.80 to US$1,133.70 an ounce, taking the gold sector down 0.57%.

The base metals sector was up slightly as March copper slipped seven cents to US$3.43 a pound.

There was good news a day before the release of the employment report as the U.S. Labour Department said the number of people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time barely rose last week, after two weeks of sharp drops.

Meanwhile, economists forecast Friday’s employment report for December will show that the jobless rate in the U.S. rose to 10.1% from 10% and that employers shed some 8,000 jobs.

The employment news, if it turns out worse than expected, could intensify concerns that the U.S. recovery is losing steam.

European producers recently reached a deal with China to sell the nutrient at about US$350 a tonne, about half the previous price. But North American producers are resisting Chinese demands for a similar break, believing that there will be a rebound in the currently depressed market. Potash Corp. shares were ahead $2.06 to $129.29 while Agrium declined 56 cents to $69.14.

The Dow Jones industrial average moved 33.18 points higher to 10,606.86.

The Nasdaq composite index was down 1.04 points to 2,300.05 while the S&P 500 index edged 4.54 points higher to 1,141.68.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	10,606.86	+33.18 or +0.31%	+1.71%
S&P 500	1,141.69	+4.55 or +0.40%	+2.38%
NASDAQ	2,300.05	-1.04 or -0.05%	+1.36%
TSX Composite	11,887.51	-57.03 or -0.48%	+1.20%

International markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,681.66	-49.79 or -0.46%	+1.28%
Hang Seng	22,269.45	-147.22 or -0.66%	+1.81%
SENSEX	17,615.72	-85.41 or -0.48%	+0.86%
FTSE 100	5,526.72	-3.32 or -0.06%	+2.10%
CAC 40	4,024.80	+7.13 or +0.18%	+2.25%
DAX	6,019.36	-14.97 or -0.25%	+1.04%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	100.98	101.13	3.63
Cdn. 30-year bond	113.90	114.12	4.15
U.S. 10-year bond	96.31	96.34	3.83
U.S. 30-year bond	94.97	95.00	4.69

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9662	0.9685
US $	1.0350	1.0325

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6720	0.6720
Euro	1.4824	1.4880

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1130.75	$1130.25

Oil	Open	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$82.65	+$0.53 or -0.64

(01/07/10)