P.M. market numbers: September 17, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market snapped a five-session winning streak Thursday, pulled lower by a sharp drop in base metal and gold stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 27.37 points to 11,528.23 near the end of a strong trading week in which optimism about economic recovery had sent the main TSX index running ahead to its highest close in almost a year on Wednesday.

The TSX base metals sector fell 3.98% as the December copper contract declined 4.05 cents to $2.896 a pound.

The gold sector was also a major decliner, down 2.25% as December gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange gave back $6.70 to US$1013.50 an ounce. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) lost 54 cents to $44.97.

Stock markets in Canada and the United States are up smartly this week after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said that the U.S. recession was likely over and a report on Wednesday showed industrial activity surged 0.8% in August, better than the 0.6% increase economists had forecast.

The Canadian dollar closed 0.17 of a cent lower to 93.74 cents U.S. after a report showing that consumer prices in Canada declined in August for the third consecutive month and other data indicating a Canadian economic recovery is on the way.

Statistics Canada reported that the annual rate of inflation was negative 0.8% last month, as the relatively low cost of gasoline and energy continued to drag the consumer price index down.

That compared with the July reading of minus 0.9%, which was Canada’s lowest inflation rate in 56 years.

The agency also said that its composite leading index, designed to indicate where the economy is headed in the next six to 12 months, rose 1.1% in August, the biggest jump since April 2002.

The agency said jumps of 1% or more in the index usually come early in a recovery that follows a downturn.

The TSX energy sector was down 0.4% with the October crude contract on the Nymex down four cents at US$72.47 a barrel. Crude oil had surged about US$4 a barrel over the last three sessions amid signs the U.S. economy, the world’s largest consumer of crude, has stopped shrinking.

New York markets were little changed amid some earnings disappointments and positive economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 7.79 points to 9,783.92.

(THE CANADIAN PRESS)

North American markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	9,783.92	-7.79 or -0.08%	+11.48%
S&P 500	1,065.49	-3.27 or -0.31%	+17.96%
NASDAQ	2,126.75	-6.40 or -0.30%	+34.86%
TSX Composite	11,528.23	-27.37 or -0.24%	+28.27%

International markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,443.80	+173.03 or +1.68%	+17.88%
Hang Seng	21,768.51	+365.59 or +1.71%	+51.30%
SENSEX	16,711.11	+34.07 or +0.20%	+73.22%
FTSE 100	5,163.95	+39.82 or +0.78%	+16.46%
CAC 40	3,835.27	+21.48 or +0.56%	+19.18%
DAX	5,731.14	+30.88 or +0.54%	+19.15%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	103.28	103.18	3.35
Cdn. 30-year bond	119.12	119.14	3.87
U.S. 10-year bond	101.01	101.28	3.38
U.S. 30-year bond	105.69	103.84	4.16

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9374	0.9390
US $	1.0668	1.0649

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6363	0.6374
Euro	1.5715	1.5688

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$1020.50	$1018.50

Oil	Close	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$72.52	+$0.10 or +0.01%

(09/16/09)