P.M. market numbers: July 23, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market roared ahead Thursday as investors were encouraged by the Bank of Canada’s pronouncement that the recession will end this quarter and looked past sharply lower earnings from commodity sector heavyweights.

The main S&P/TSX composite index jumped 243.33 points to 10,675.68 following two days of losses.

The Bank of Canada also projected the economy will bounce back at least twice as strongly as in the United States.

However, the central bank warned in its latest monetary policy report that the recovery is at best nascent and dependent on massive government stimulus and historic low interest rates.

Also, the latest Conference Board reading on consumer confidence showed respondents were more likely in July to consider making a major purchase in the coming six months than when the June index was compiled.

The Canadian dollar surged following the Bank of Canada report, rising 1.01 cents to 92.04 cents US. A higher loonie tends to be helpful for Canadians making U.S.-dollar denominated purchases but it makes exports to the United States more difficult.

Prior to the losses from earlier in the week, the market had surged about 800 points over six sessions as investors were impressed with a string of U.S. earnings that beat expectations and raised hopes for an improving economy.

On Thursday, the September crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.76 to US$67.16 a barrel.

U.S. markets were higher on positive housing sector news and strong earnings reports from industrial giant 3M Co. and Ford Motor Co.

The Dow Jones industrial average moved 188.03 points higher to 9,069.29, rising above 9,000 for the first time since early January. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 47.22 points to 1,973.6 while the S&P 500 index added 22.22 points to 976.29

The gold sector was 0.23% lower as the August bullion contract on the Nymex gained $1.50 to US$954.80.

(THE CANADIAN PRESS)

North American markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	9,069.29	+188.03 or +2.12%	+3.34%
S&P 500	976.29	+22.22 or +2.33%	+8.09%
NASDAQ	1,973.60	+47.22 or +2.45%	+25.15%
TSX Composite	10,675.68	+243.33 or +2.33%	+18.78%

International markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Nikkei	9,792.94	+69.78 or +0.72%	+10.54%
Hang Seng	19,817.70	+569.53 or +2.96%	+37.74%
SENSEX	15,231.04	+387.92 or +2.61%	+57.88%
FTSE 100	4,559.80	+66.07 or +1.47%	+2.83%
CAC 40	3,373.72	+68.65 or +2.08%	+4.84%
DAX	5,247.28	+125.72 or +2.45%	+9.09%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	101.83	102.56	3.53
Cdn. 30-year bond	115.79	116.64	4.05
U.S. 10-year bond	95.43	96.53	3.68
U.S. 30-year bond	94.81	96.75	4.57

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9204	0.9103
US $	1.0865	1.0985

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6483	0.6405
Euro	1.5424	1.5613

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$955.25	$950.00

Oil	Close	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$67.20	+$1.80 or +2.75%

(07/23/09)