Market Update from Berman

Berman's Market Update October 6th 2009

The close: Aussie rules Courtesy : David Berman

Stocks scored their second day of solid gains on Tuesday, driven largely by commodity producers after the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised markets with an unexpected rate hike. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 9731.25, up 131.50 points, or 1.4 per cent. All 30 stocks ended the day in positive territory – even Boeing Co., which announced that it will take a $1-billion (U.S.) charge in its third quarter results due to delays with its 747-8 freighters. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1054.72, up 14.26 points, or 1.4 per cent. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed at 11,247.97, up 145.35 points, or 1.3 per cent. Australia became the first developed economy to raise rates after central banks around the world slashed their key rates in an effort to stimulate their economies, and the rate hike raised optimism among investors that the global economy is on the mend. The move sent the U.S. dollar sharply lower against a number of currencies and sent commodity prices higher (most commodities are priced in U.S. dollars). Gold surged to a record high of $1039.70 an ounce, up $21.90. Crude oil rose to $70.88 a barrel, up 47 cents. Though market gains were widespread, commodity producers were the biggest winners. Among Canadian gold stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. rose 7.6 per cent and Goldcorp Inc. rose 4.8 per cent. Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. rose 2.7 per cent and EnCana Corp. rose 1.6 per cent. The U.S. dollar fell about 1 cent against the Canadian dollar, to $1.06. (Looking at it the other way, the Canadian dollar rose to 94.3 cents against the U.S. dollar.) However, currency strategists at Goldman Sachs signalled that the Canadian dollar might have risen too high next to the greenback. In a note, the strategists reminded clients that they had recommended betting against the U.S. dollar as recently as August, but they now recommend closing that trade with the dollar having reach their target price of $1.06