Local Stock Market Commentary:

It was a moderate day of trading in the local market with 7,318 shares trading in the local market today.

Bahamas Property Fund Limited (BPF) traded 1,000 shares, increasing by +$0.85 to close at $10.75.

Bank of Bahamas (BOB) traded 1,600 shares, falling by -$0.07 to close at a new 52-week low of $6.18.

Finco (FIN) traded 1,200 shares, advancing by +$0.50 to close at $9.30.

FirstCaribbean (CIB) traded 1,000 shares closing unchanged at $10.29.

Focol Holdings Ltd. (FCL) traded 2,518 shares closing unchanged at $4.99.

Precious Metals:

Gold closed at $1,019.00, Silver at $17.42, Platinum at $1,351.50 and Crude Oil at $72.75 a barrel.

Foreign Currencies:

Against the US Dollar, the Euro closed at 1.4726, Pound Sterling at 1.6494, Yen at 90.935 and the Canadian Dollar at 0.938.


Stocks:

Consolidated Water Company Ltd. (CWCO) declined by -$0.02 or -0.11% to close at $18.72.

International Stock Market News:

U.S. stocks climbed, extending a global advance that sent the MSCI World Index to an almost one- year high, and commodities gained amid speculation the economy has returned to growth.

Gold rose to a record close as the dollar slid to its weakest against the euro in almost a year.

Asian stocks rose, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its largest gain in three weeks, as a better-than-estimated U.S. retail sales report boosted prospects for exporters? sales.

European stocks rose for a second day as billionaire investor Warren Buffett said his company is buying equities and higher commodity prices lifted raw-material producers.

Developing-nation stocks rallied, sending the MSCI Emerging Markets Index up more than 100 percent from its October 2008 low, as U.S. retail sales beat estimates, metals gained and Indonesia?s credit rating was upgraded.

Crude oil futures rose above $72 a barrel in New York after the U.S. Energy Department reported that inventories dropped to the lowest level since January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared by +108.30 points or +1.12% to close at 9,791.71 with a volume of 241.27 million shares.

The top advancers today were IBM, McDonalds Corp, JPMorgan Chase and American Express. The top decliners today were Verizon Communication, Merck & Co, AT&T Inc. and Travelers Cos In.

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index grew by +$0.96 or +2.52% to close at $39.13.

The Standard and Poor's 500 Index climbed by +16.13 points or +1.53% to close at 1,068.76.

The Financial Times 100 Index in London increased by +82.00 points or by +1.63% to close at 5,142.13.


NIKKEI 225 Stock Average increased by +53.15 points or +0.52% to close at 10,270.77.

Note: Bloomberg used as source for international data.