P.M. market numbers: September 29, 2009

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

The Toronto stock market closed higher Tuesday, supported by the gold and telecom sectors but investors were cautious following a surprise drop in U.S. consumer confidence that called into doubt the strength of a U.S. economic recovery.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 56.27 points to 11,394.99.

The news was better in Canada, where the Conference Board of Canada’s index of consumer confidence climbed 2.5 points in September. It noted that its index has risen in each of the past seven months, marking the longest streak of consecutive monthly increases since 2002.

The increase was led by continued improvement on the major purchases question, and a more optimistic outlook on future employment opportunities.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.17 of a cent to 92.12 cents US.

The TSX gold sector was the major advancer, up 2.69% as the December bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 30 cents to US$994.40 an ounce.

The energy sector was flat as the November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down 13 cents to US$66.71 a barrel following the release of the soft consumer sentiment numbers. Oil had advanced 82 cents Monday after crude retreated almost nine per cent last week on demand worries.

New York markets turned lower on the consumer data after earlier enjoying a minor advance following a report showing home prices increased from June to July.

The Dow Jones industrial average was 47.16 points lower at 9,742.2.

The Nasdaq composite index lost 6.7 points to 2,124.04 while the S&P 500 dropped 2.37 points to 1,060.61 as the widely-watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities rose 1.2% from June. Though home prices are still 13.3% below July a year ago, they have risen for three months straight.

The index is down about 33% from the peak in mid-2006. Home prices are now at levels not seen since the third quarter of 2003.

Stock markets lost ground last week, with the TSX down more than two per cent, as economic data disappointed investors at a time when the strong market advances since early March have sent the Toronto market soaring more than 50%.

(THE CANADIAN PRESS)

North American markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Dow Jones	9,742.20	-47.16 or -0.48%	+11.00%
S&P 500	1,060.61	-2.37 or -0.22%	+17.42%
NASDAQ	2,124.04	-6.70 or -0.31%	+34.69%
TSX Composite	11,394.99	+56.27 or +0.50%	+26.78%

International markets

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	Close	Change	YTD
Nikkei	10,100.20	+90.68 or +0.91%	+14.00%
Hang Seng	21,013.17	+424.76 or +2.06%	+46.05%
SENSEX	16,852.91	+159.91 or +0.96%	+74.69%
FTSE 100	5,159.72	-5.98 or -0.12%	+16.36%
CAC 40	3,814.10	-10.90 or -0.28%	+18.53%
DAX	5,713.52	-22.79 or -0.40%	+18.78%

Bonds

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Bonds	$Current	$Previous	%Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond	103.48	103.48	3.33
Cdn. 30-year bond	119.29	119.32	3.86
U.S. 10-year bond	102.75	102.92	3.28
U.S. 30-year bond	108.22	108.19	4.02

Currency

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BoC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.9212	0.9195
US $	1.0855	1.0875

Euro Spot Rate	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6322	0.6296
Euro	1.5817	1.5883

Commodities

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Gold	AM	PM
London Gold Fix ($US)	$991.75	$989.50

Oil	Close	Change
WTI Crude Future (US)	$66.01	-$0.23 or -0.34%

(09/29/09)