P.M. market numbers: July 30, 2009

By Staff | July 30, 2009 | Last updated on July 30, 2009
2 min read
| North American markets | International markets | Bonds | Currency | Commodities |

North American stock markets recaptured their recent optimism and moved higher Thursday on stronger-than-expected profit reports and rising energy prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index rebounded 221.39 points to 10,676.72, while the Canadian dollar was at 92.23 cents US, up 0.55 of a cent.

The upswing ended two days of weakness driven by investor pessimism about the economic recovery. Much of those concerns were put aside as commodities rebounded, sending the energy sector ahead 2.4%.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery closed up $3.59 to US$66.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, logging its biggest gain since April 9.

Petro-Canada said that weaker oil prices took a bite out of its profits, which sharply dropped to C$77 million in the quarter, from $1.498 billion a year ago. Its shares rose $1.89 to $44.60.

However, earnings from other companies were decidedly stronger. Both Barrick Gold Corp. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reported modest increases in second-quarter profits. Canadian Pacific stock was up 12% to $48.61.

TSX mining stocks were one of the lead gainers, up 3.%, with Teck Resources Ltd. closing ahead 7.6% to $27.25. Metals stocks were up 5.9%.

The gold sector was up 2.3% as bullion for August rose $7.70, to end at US$934.90 on the Nymex.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials were ahead 83.74 points to 9,154.46, well off an intraday surge of 112 points. The Nasdaq composite rose 16.54 points to 1,984.30 while the S&P 500 index gained 11.60 points to 986.75.

The U.S. Labour Department reported that the number of Americans continuing to collect unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to 6.2 million, though the increase was mostly tied to seasonal distortions.

(THE CANADIAN PRESS)

North American markets Back to Top
Close Change YTD
Dow Jones 9,154.46 +83.74 or +0.92% +4.31%
S&P 500 986.75 +11.60 or 1.19% +9.24%
NASDAQ 1,984.30 +16.54 or +0.84% +25.83%
TSX Composite 10,676.72 +221.39 or +2.12% +18.79%

International markets Back to Top
Close Change YTD
Nikkei 10,165.21 +51.97 or +0.51% +14.74%
Hang Seng 20,234.08 +98.58 or +0.49% +40.64%
SENSEX 15,387.96 +214.50 or +1.41% +59.51%
FTSE 100 4,631.61 +84.08 or +1.85% +4.45%
CAC 40 3,435.49 +69.87 or +2.08% +6.76%
DAX 5,360.66 +90.34 or +1.71% +11.44%

Bonds Back to Top
Bonds $Current $Previous %Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond 101.58 101.76 3.56
Cdn. 30-year bond 115.89 115.84 4.04
U.S. 10-year bond 96.00 95.59 3.61
U.S. 30-year bond 97.21 95.00 4.42

Currency Back to Top
BoC Close Today Previous
Canadian $ 0.9222 0.9016
US $ 1.0844 1.0831

Euro Spot Rate Today Previous
Canadian $ 0.6556 0.6533
Euro 1.5254 1.5307

Commodities Back to Top
Gold AM PM
London Gold Fix ($US)

$932.00

$932.50

Oil Close Change
WTI Crude Future (US) $70.08 +$3.55 or +5.34%

(07/30/09)

Advisor.ca staff

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.